Doyle and the Brothers Winchester
by pebbles12345
Summary: After getting their Mom back and defeating the Darkness, Sam and Dean Winchester decide to tackle a hunt close to home. What they did not expect was to find the world's only supernatural consulting detective, Victoria Doyle, already on the scene. With Lucifer trying to find a new vessel, new monsters, and living with a Chosen One, the Winchesters have their work cut out for them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_A/N: I started writing this piece after the end of Season 11. This was when Sam was shot by the woman of the British Men of Letters and Mary returned. After watching the following seasons, I learned that the show portrayed Mary quite differently then I do in this story. I hope you enjoy my take on the brothers' Winchester. _

_Thank you so much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural nor Sherlock Holmes (who Victoria Doyle is lightly based on). _

How it Used to Be

_Three years ago in a smallish town outside of a larger one in the South._

"I don't completely understand."

"That is to be expected. The first one of you I worked with took much longer to grasp these concepts, you have been extraordinary, Victoria."

Compliments came easy to her, but from him they actually meant something. She smiled slightly and tried to pay more attention to her task.

"So, all I have to do is think it?" She looked down at the cut on the back of her hand. It wasn't deep or wide, or in any way threatening. It was bleeding only enough to be annoying, she could tell it was already beginning to clot.

He took off the knee length white pea coat and hung it on the banister near her front door. His build was slight, but muscular. His stature was such that he could wear anything and look good in it. Then again, it wasn't really his.

"More or less, but you have to want it while thinking it, I think that has been our problem. You do not seem to care enough for yourself. Let us try it a different way."

He went over to the coat and pulled a silver blade from within it.

She knew what he was going to do, not only because she could hear his thoughts when she wanted, but because she knew him.

"Ezekiel, no." Her voice was stern, and held the slightest bit of fear.

He smiled, which for him was a rare occurrence.

"Do not worry, Victoria, you will be able to heal me."

Before she could convince him otherwise, he plunged the blade into his own stomach, causing a bright light to escape. He fell onto the floor, clutching his self-inflicted wound.

With great effort he muttered, "Now, heal me."

She rushed over to him and put her hands on top of his. "I don't know what to do!"

"Yes, you do."

Blood was spilling quickly, soaking his expensive clothes, and her cheap rug. She breathed deeply to calm herself. She closed her eyes to revisit her training in her mind. She could feel his life leaving him underneath her hands. She knew she had to heal him now if he was going to live. She was going to will him to live. Almost as soon as she had that thought she felt her hands warm, she opened her eyes to see a bright light coming from them. She moved his hands gingerly so that hers could touch his wound. She didn't know how she was doing it, or how to explain it, but as she moved her hands over the open flesh, it closed, as if it has been magically stitched. There was no trace of blood or injury when she was done as the light and warmth went out of her hands.

Ezekiel sat up as if nothing had happened.

"I knew that you would be able to do that, Victoria. I have always had faith in you."

She was thrilled that she was able to accomplish healing, but angry with him for teaching her in such a manner.

"You could have died. Holden could have died."

"No, Victoria, for you would not have let that happen."

His hand went to his forehead, as if he were in pain. She knew what that was, he was hearing something. He removed his hand and looked at her.

"You have to go?"

He nodded, "Yes."

They both stood up, she reached behind her for his coat, but as soon as she turned back around he was gone.

"Angels."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying this tale. I hope this isn't too confusing, but this story takes place after season 11 of the show. Thank you!_

_I do not own Supernatural or Sherlock Holmes nor do I own any of the other stories/books/movies/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 2

How it is now

Victoria Doyle stood looking at what used to be the body. The country around her was flat and she could see for miles. There was a slight wind and she could feel the white pea coat hitting against the side of her thigh. It was comforting. She heard two sets of footsteps behind her.

"Miss Doyle" a rather gruff voice said, "we were told to come to you, Agents Smith and Wesson, FBI".

Victoria turned around to see two men holding out badges. One looked like he was all business and the other looked concerned. Victoria studied them as they put their badges back in their jacket pockets. She turned her head to the side as she made her final analyses.

"Ah, good, I enjoy working with hunters. It saves me from getting my coat dirty. Dry cleaning is quite expensive these days."

Both men looked shocked momentarily, but they hid it well. The tall one spoke this time.

"I'm sorry, hunters?"

Victoria thoroughly enjoyed this part.

"Really, gentleman. Those badges were obviously fake, which by the way is a serious crime. Your suits, while nice for what they are, are relatively inexpensive. A Fed would not be caught dead in that suit. 'Agent Wesson' your hair is so far from regulation it isn't even funny. I know that Feds see a lot of crap, but there is not even a body anymore, there's just chunks and neither of you even flinched. Your hands are rough, callused, you cast your own bullets, there's traces of lead under your fingernails, and your guns are not in holsters."

The local police were far enough away from the scene that they were out of earshot. The taller one whispered anyway.

"Are you a hunter too?"

The shorter one was too stunned to say anything. His face looked just sort of frozen on 'confused'.

"Before I divulge my identity, I would like yours."

The taller one nodded his head. "Of course, I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean."

"I have heard of you. You're somewhat infamous. I am Victoria Doyle. A supernatural consulting detective."

Dean was shaken from his stupor, "A what?"

Victoria looked at him and turned her head to the side. "I don't understand what you don't understand."

Sam smirked but quickly stopped when he saw his brother glaring at him.

"What is a supernatural consulting detective?" Dean rephrased and shifted his weight to his left foot, he crossed and then uncrossed his arms. He couldn't discern who was in charge of this situation.

"When the police, sheriff's department, FBI, on one occasion the CIA, that was an odd case, can't figure out what they're dealing with, they call me and I take care of it for them. They don't ask questions and I don't volunteer answers."

Sam looked impressed and upset at the same time. "Do they pay you for this?"

"Yes, I charge a fee as well as expenses."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Really?" They both asked in unison.

Victoria chuckled slightly. It has been a long time since she laughed and the emotion was welcome.

"Yes. If any hunters work with me, I get cash from whatever agency hired me to pay them as well. While the hunters are with me, they are under my protection. As long as they don't do anything too asinine. If tales prove true, I'm not entirely sure you two would fit into that category. However, if you would care to work with me on this case, and save my coat from inevitable blood stains, I will be able to pay you for doing so."

Dean looked at Sam and shrugged his shoulders almost comically. "Sam, you in?"

It had been six months since he got shot and they got their mom back. Sam enjoyed having his mom nurse him back to health so much that he wouldn't let Cas heal him. Which Cas of course didn't fully understand. They had been a great six months, but tough nonetheless. Explaining all their actions to the Men of Letters, England Chapter, was not easy, but they were eventually able to do so. This was their first case in half a year, and they only agreed to look into it because it was an hour from the bunker. They could definitely use the help, and the money.

"Yeah, I'm in."

Victoria nodded and started to walk down toward the mass of cars. Sam and Dean followed. She walked over to the Police Sargent.

"Sargent Withers, these men will be helping me with your case. Their fees will need to be paid in cash. I will send you a bill when we are through. Your crew can clean whatever it is they can clean, and I will contact you if I need to." The Sargent simply nodded.

Sam and Dean nodded at the Sargent and followed Victoria to her car.

"I figured you for more of a Honda Civic kind of girl." Dean ran his hand along the body of her car lovingly, "Color me impressed."

"If that was supposed to be taken as a compliment, thank you. I do love this car. It was the first thing I bought when I solved my first case." Victoria leaned against the passenger door of her 1988 Ford Mustang as she talked with the men.

Dean walked around it and looked inside the driver side window. "Could I drive…"

Victoria cut him off, "Under no circumstances, no."

Sam smiled.

Dean walked back over to where his brother was. "I have a 1967 Impala, it's over there." He motioned towards their car with his thumb. "It was my dad's." He had no idea why he added that.

"Well, your dad had very good taste."

Dean averted his eyes to the ground, "Thanks."

She instantly knew that Dean Winchester had a lot of deep seeded Father issues from that averted gaze. She quickly got back on track, she tried to avoid feelings whenever possible.

"If you gentlemen would care to follow me, we can go interview the witness."

Dean looked up and suddenly noticed her eyes. He was taken aback but quickly recovered, "There was a witness to that?"

"Unfortunately for them, yes."

Sam stepped in, "Yes, we will follow you."

Victoria nodded and walked around to the driver's side.

"I'll see you gentlemen there."

As Sam and Dean headed towards the Chevy, Dean stopped momentarily to listen to the 5.0 liter engine start up in the 'Stang.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you for reading this far! I hope you are enjoying the story! Many of the subsequent chapters will be longer than these first few. Again, thank you so much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, nor any of the other books, movies, TV, or music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 3

Ruminations Whilst Driving

Dean pulled out of their parking spot on the side of the main highway to follow the midnight blue '88 Stang. He turned the volume down on the cassette player to talk to Sam.

"Does she remind you of someone?"

Sam was smiling almost to the point of laughing. "Dean, really? Think really hard."

Dean thought of her direct speech, her confusion at some of the things he said, the way she took over situations, the way she turned her head when she was trying to understand, and her eyes.

"Dammit, she's a female Cas!"

Sam couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed uncontrollably. When he had almost fully recovered he asked his older brother, "Did you wish really hard?"

Dean looked over at him, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Sam held his stomach and laughed some more. Dean reached over and punched him in the arm, not too hard, his little brother had been shot recently, but hard enough to know he meant business.

Sam sobered up and looked at Dean, a smile still playing on his lips. "Nothing, forget it."

"Damn right I'll forget it. Don't be weird Sammy."

A couple of minutes of silence passed before Dean spoke again. "What do you think we're dealing with?"

Sam shook his head, "I don't know, I know it's only been six months, but I feel like we've been out of the game for a while. I'm happy that Victoria is leading this honestly, I think it will help us get back into the game slowly."

"When has anything ever worked like that for us, Sam? Nothing is ever easy for us. It starts out that way, but it always ends up being some big bad."

"We got mom back."

Dean smiled, "Yeah, we did. Do you want to call and check on her before we get to the witnesses' house? I'm kinda worried about what Cas has her watching, dude watches some weird crap."

Sam halfway smiled and snickered and picked up his phone, "Yeah, good idea."

Victoria Doyle had worked with the occasional hunter before, but never any with the notoriety these two had. They were both loved and hated by other hunters. She knew they had saved the world a few times, but she also knew they were sometimes the ones that caused it to need saving.

She had even heard Ezekiel mention them in passing. She knew that at one point those two had Angelic connections. She would ask them if they knew about Ezekiel before they parted ways. She needed to know what happened to her Angel.

She turned right as her GPS told her too, driving absent mindedly thinking about when she first met him, nine years ago.

_She stood on the steps of the campus library, her books clutched to her chest, frozen in fear. She could hear everything it was thinking and they were horrible, evil thoughts. She knew the thing that looked like a person couldn't be. People weren't that evil, were they? The thing kept advancing toward her. Acting as if she were prey. It spoke. _

"_Are you okay, miss? Here, let me help you with those books." _

_The words mixed with what it was thinking and she could understand both at the same time, it was unsettling. 'look at that whore, she can't even move, she looks delicious, this was an easy catch, I'll take her home, daddy will be proud, I'm getting one of them, I might even get a reward.'_

_She backed up and tripped over the stair behind her. The motion sent her reeling back into reality and she reached into her bag with her right arm to get out her pepper spray. _

_Suddenly she heard a 'woosh' and a man was standing behind the thing. He tapped it on the shoulder and the thing turned around with a look of horror. The man put his palm on the things' forehead and a fiery light came out of the things' eyes and mouth. The thing fell to the ground and rolled down the steps. _

_She got up and looked at the man. He was the same height as her, his face was kind, and worried. She realized that he wasn't talking but she could hear him. His thoughts were the complete opposite of the things', they were pure, good, lovely. She instantly trusted him. _

"_Are you alright Victoria?" _

_When he spoke his thoughts didn't interact so she only heard one at a time. _

'_I should've been here sooner. She's petrified.'_

"_No, I'm okay, thank you for saving me. What was that thing?" _

_She took his proffered hand to stand up. She had scraped the back of her leg on the concrete stair and she winced as she stood. He put two fingers to her forehead and the pain instantly subsided. _

"_That was a demon." _

"_A demon?" _

_She could see in his mind that was true. She saw images of heaven and hell, of wonderful and horrible things. _

"_Yes, and I am an Angel of the Lord. And you, Victoria Doyle, are one of the chosen. You are a human with God-given abilities. I am your trainer, you are my charge. Today is your birthday, correct?" _

_She was surprised by how easily she was accepting all of this. Before she could answer him, they were in her dorm. _

"_What? How did we get here?" _

_He sat down in the chair in front of her desk. "I am an Angel of the Lord, I have wings."_

"_Right." She set her books down on her bed and sat on the edge of it. _

"_Yes, it is my twenty first birthday." _

"_That is the age when your abilities begin to form. You have noticed this, correct?" _

"_I guess? I heard what that… demon…. Was thinking. How did it know? About me?"_

"_You will find that all demons and Angels will know about you the moment they see you. Which is why we must begin your training immediately. You have the advantage of hearing their thoughts, which with practice you will be able to hear from miles away." _

"_I'm supposed to graduate in two months." _

_The Angel got up and walked around her room. He put his hands in his coat pockets. _

"_And you shall Victoria, I will make sure of that. I have trained many chosen, and I have the utmost of faith in you." _

"_Thank you. What shall I call you? I'm guessing this isn't your true form." _

"_No, this is a Vessel. His name is Holden, he is a devout man. My name is Ezekiel, and I am your guardian Angel." _

Victoria was shaken out of her reverie by the announcement by her GPS that she had 'arrived'. She pulled into the driveway of a good sized house, with the Impala right behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, or any other movie, book, TV show, or music referenced in this story. _

Chapter 4

It. Was. Awful

Victoria, Sam, and Dean stood outside the front door of the large house. Just as Victoria was about to ring the doorbell, she noticed Sam and Dean pulling their fake badges from their inside breast pocket.

"Gentlemen, I know this is not what you're accustomed to, but when you work with me, you're legit. So, just follow my lead and do not do anything asinine."

Sam and Dean put their badges back into their pockets slowly.

Dean whispered to Sam, "I can't tell if I like her or not."

Sam didn't respond as Victoria rang the doorbell.

"Your voice does not lend itself to a whisper, Mister Winchester."

Dean looked defeated as a middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Misses Forrester? I believe Sargent Withers told you I would be arriving to ask you some questions?" Victoria smiled genuinely, she had acquired the skill to pretend like she cared. Sometimes she did, but it took an extraordinary person.

The lady nodded and opened the door further.

As the three stepped inside the threshold and Misses Forrester had closed the door, Victoria introduced her party.

"I am Victoria Doyle, this is Sam, and this is Dean. If you could please tell us what you saw."

Mrs. Forrester led them into a spacious living room. All three sat on the sofa while Mrs. Forrester sat across from them in a chair.

Sam noticed how scared the lady looked, and since he was usually the one who handled the sensitive side of things, he decided to try and ease her mind.

"Misses Forrester, I know what you saw couldn't have been easy, but it would help us if you could go over it one more time, so that we can catch whoever did this and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Victoria made a note of Sam's sincerity. He was very good. He had a wonderful concerned countenance. She herself hated feigning sentiment, so she thought this taller brother might be of some use.

Mrs. Forrester took a deep breath and started slowly. "I was driving down the highway when I saw this bright light out of the corner of my eye. I pulled over to see what it was. I don't really know why I did that, I guess I felt drawn to it somehow. I got out of my car and I saw a man standing there. He was talking to the light…."

Victoria interrupted, "This light, was it a ball of light or more like a stream?"

"Umm. A stream I guess. Anyway, I heard him say 'yes', then the stream of light went inside him and he exploded. It was awful."

"What happened to the light?" Dean leaned forward in his seat.

"What?"

"Where did the light go Misses Forrester?" Victoria reiterated Dean's question.

"It went up, into the sky, it went away."

Victoria got up. "Thank you Misses Forrester, you have been most helpful. Come along gentlemen."

Sam and Dean nodded towards Misses Forrester as they left the house.

Victoria stopped when she got in front of her car.

"I assume you two know what this is, what we're dealing with."

Sam and Dean nodded.

Victoria put both hands around her neck and rolled her head from side to side.

Dean knew she was probably in over her head with this one and felt sorry for her. Normally, he would've dumped her and let him and Sammy take it from here. But he kind of liked this girl, and money was money.

"We have someone who might be able to help."

Victoria smiled inwardly and looked at Dean. "Really?"


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, tv show, book, or music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 5

And then there was Cas

Victoria agreed to follow them back to their bunker. She was a tad concerned they referred to it as a bunker instead of a house, but she knew if push came to shove she was more than able to take care of herself.

She became more concerned when she saw it was underground. She still followed them inside. She did not expect the smell of chocolate chip cookies to hit her as soon as she walked in. Those men did not look like bakers.

She also heard the thoughts of an Angel. She thought she might, but she was still excited. Well, as excited as she got, she was pretty even tempered. This angel's thoughts were not like those of Ezekiel, this angel was concerned with how to keep Mary entertained while Sam and Dean were gone. She cocked her head to the side, was this a domesticated angel? Would he even know what she was?

She followed the men down the stairs.

Dean threw his suit jacket over a chair. "Mom, Cas?"

Mary Winchester came out of the kitchen with a plate of cookies. Cas was following behind her.

Victoria wondered if she had stumbled into an alternate universe titled, "Leave it to the Winchesters".

"Hey, boys, did the hunt go okay? I wasn't expecting you back so…"

All conversation stopped when Mary and Cas looked up to see Victoria.

"Hi," Mary put the cookies down on one of the tables.

Sam stepped in-between them. "Sorry mom, this is Victoria Doyle, she is helping us with the case. Victoria, this is our mom, Mary Winchester."

Victoria let the helping us comment go, this time.

"Nice to meet you Misses Winchester."

"Please, call me Mary, and it's nice to meet you as well."

Victoria shifted her eyes to the Angel Dean called 'Cas'. She thought that was a strange name for an angel.

Cas walked over to her, completely oblivious to everything else. "You're one of them. One of the chosen."

To say Sam, Dean, and Mary looked utterly confused would be a vast understatement.

Victoria hadn't seen an Angel at all in three years. She desperately missed (and as much as she hated to admit it needed) hers. He helped her with her abilities, she couldn't strengthen them on her own.

"Yes." Victoria closed her eyes in relief. Maybe this Angel could help her find hers.

"What the hell?"

"Dean." Mary said reproachfully.

"Sorry, mom."

Victoria opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Two hunters, their mom, and a fallen angel. She could only read the thoughts of supernatural beings, not humans. She looked at the angel named Cas and scanned. He trusted these Winchesters with his life. She decided she would place trust in them as well. If they betrayed her she knew she could handle herself.

"I will explain. May we sit?"

All five of them sat at one of the tables.

"First," she started, looking at Cas, "what is your name? Cas does not sound right for an Angel of the Lord."

Cas smiled, "No, it is a nickname given to me by Dean. My name is Castiel."

Victoria knew of him. Ezekiel had told her they fought together. He trusted him. That set her more at ease.

"Ah, Angel of Thursday. It is very nice to meet you."

"Yeah, enough with the flirting, what's this chosen one crap?"

Victoria looked at Dean fiercely. "I do not flirt."

"Yeah, I'm getting that impression."

Cas decided to intervene. "There is a handful of humans from each generation scattered around the globe who are the chosen. They possess abilities that mimic and sometimes surpass the abilities of angels."

"The chosen? Like Buffy?" Dean didn't even break a smile at the reference.

Cas nodded, "In a way, yes."

Victoria wondered what type of Angel watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Sam shook his head and leaned across the table toward Victoria somewhat excitedly, "What can you do?"

Victoria looked at Cas, who nodded for her to go on. "I can read the minds of all supernatural beings."

Dean smiled, "Including Angels?" He looked at Cas.

"Yes, including angels."

Sam was annoyed at the interruption, "What else?"

Victoria took a deep breath and continued. "I can heal: myself, other humans, and angels. I am a little stronger than most people, and I can smite."

"You can smite?" Sam sat back in his chair looking impressed.

"Yes, demons, vampires, werewolves, pretty much every other supernatural being you can think of, and….. angels."

"You can smite an angel?" Dean asked.

Victoria nodded. It wasn't something she was particularly proud of.

"Awesome." He truly meant it. "Like any Angel?"

"I don't know. Fortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to try it too many times. It occurred once, I had a guardian angel training me, and another angel was threatening him." She paused, "I had to."

She looked to Cas, "Maybe you know what became of my angel? I lost him three years ago." She touched her coat absent mindedly, "His name was Ezekiel."

Sam and Dean shared a glance and then looked at the table. Cas averted his eyes to the ground for a moment before looking at Victoria. She felt something for Ezekiel and she would be hurt. He did not want to hurt her.

Dean looked at his best friend and decided to intervene. "You know, the 'meteor shower' three years ago? Well, that was all the angels falling to earth, because of a spell another angel did. He's dead now." Dean paused to change his tone, "Ezekiel died in the fall. I'm sorry."

Victoria got up from her seat and put her hands in her pockets. She had thought he might be dead, but she hoped he wasn't. Now that she knew, she felt nothing, just emptiness. He had been her best, and only friend. She spent almost all her time with him when she wasn't working a case. Sometimes, he helped her with those.

She took a deep breath and sat back down.

"Back to the case?"


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying this story!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, TV show, book, or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 6

The Case at Hand

Mary got up from her seat, "I'm retired now, so I'm going to leave the case work in your younger, more capable, hands." She smiled as she headed to her room. "Yell if you need anything."

The four of them remained at the table, each one going over in their mind what they had just learned.

Cas knew he was never meant to be a Guardian, but he felt responsible for her somehow. Maybe because his actions, however well intended, led to the death of her Angel.

Dean couldn't believe they had stumbled across a chosen one in a routine case, but the more he thought about it, the more he could believe it.

Sam thought about how useful she would be on hunts, and how much more good they could do now.

Victoria felt nothing. Her hope was gone. She wasn't an ordinary woman and losing the one friend who she knew without a shadow of a doubt cared for her regardless of who or how she was caused her to feel hollow.

Dean snapped out of it first. "So yeah, it's an angel trying to find a vessel, isn't it?"

Victoria was thankful for the distraction. "Yes."

Cas looked confused, "I don't understand."

Sam was on the verge of laughing again until he noticed Dean's death stare.

Victoria placed two fingers on Cas's temple. Cas closed his eyes for a moment, as if he were processing.

"Yes, I believe that was an angel looking for a vessel."

Dean looked at Victoria askew, "What did you do to him?"

She could tell that the shorter one was possessive of this Angel. She understood, she was possessive of hers. She quickly thought of the possible directions this could go in. She went over the different scenarios in her mind. She knew Castiel was protective of this family, fiercely so. Even though he wasn't their Guardian, he had developed feelings. His feelings were with them. She would not challenge that, she would lose. She needed him, so she needed them. She thought they could have a symbiotic relationship.

"I let him see what we saw. I shared my memory with him, now it's his as well."

Sam raised his eyebrows, "Cool."

"Most angels are very particular with their vessels. They have to be chosen carefully to prevent what happened today." Cas liked helping out the brothers with cases, and he always enjoyed feeling useful.

"So, Victoria, can you read the mind of the angel today? How does that work?" Sam was very intrigued by this woman's abilities.

"I have to be within a certain radius. By the time I got here today the Angel was already long gone."

"Cas, can you think of an angel that would even be looking for a vessel? I mean besides you, aren't those fluffy dickheads staying in heaven?"

Victoria was flabbergasted by Dean's lack of respect towards the Angels. She was rarely surprised by anything anymore, but she could tell her mouth was open a little when she caught herself staring at him.

"That is true. As far as I knew, I was the only angel on earth." Cas's brow furrowed for a moment. "Unless…."

Dean muttered, "No, it can't be."

Sam put his head in his hands. "Guys, do you seriously think…"

Victoria read Castiel's mind for a clue. "Lucifer? You think Satan is looking for a vessel?"

Cas looked at Victoria and cocked his head to the side. He was going to find out if that transfer thing worked both ways. He put two fingers on her temple and closed his eyes.

Victoria screamed in pain and fell out of her chair. When she woke up her eyes burned momentarily and she was on a bed with the Winchesters all staring down at her. She felt fine somehow, which she didn't know was possible with all that information in her head.

She was accustomed to placing things in her brain's attic. She remembered everything but put some things away to find when she needed. She surmised that while she was unconscious her brain had done that for her, to protect her.

She sat up, embarrassed by the attention. She didn't like attention. She liked to be praised for her brilliance, but she didn't like to be looked after. Different kinds of attention.

Sam helped her stand up. "I'm okay, thank you." She didn't really care to be polite, but she figured they deserved it.

"You were out for quite a while." Sam made sure she could stand up on her own before letting her go completely.

"Yeah, and your eyes went blue."

"My eyes are blue, Dean."

"No, they flashed blue. Like his do when he's all 'Angelic'." Dean motioned towards Cas.

Victoria had never known that to happen to her before, she assumed that's why her eyes burned when she first woke up.

Victoria looked at Castiel, "Next time you do that, you have to concentrate on a particular time frame. Intently. You put your millennial knowledge and memories into my human head."

Cas looked remorseful, "I am very sorry."

"It is fine. I am fine. My brain sorted it out while I was unconscious. I do understand now about Lucifer and what we have ahead of us. So, that knowledge you gave me is very useful."

"Is there anything I can get you Victoria?"

"No Mary, thank you though, I appreciate it."

"I fixed up one of the extra rooms for you. It is getting late, and I thought it would be easier for you to stay here instead of trying to find some motel." Mary Winchester looked at her boys as if she was daring them to contradict her. They didn't.

"That's very kind of you but I…."

"I insist." Mary took Victoria by the hand and led her out of Dean's room.

Mary also made Dean go to Victoria's car to get her bag. Dean thought about driving it around for a little while, thought better of it and headed back inside.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thank you so very much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, book, TV show, or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 7

So… Victoria?

After Mary and Victoria had gone to bed, Dean, Sam, and Cas stayed up to talk. Sam grabbed two beers from the kitchen and handed one to his brother before they all sat down.

"What the hell?"

"I know." Sam and Cas said in unison.

"So, Buffy in there is basically a human angel?"

"That's not exactly an accurate description, Dean. I would strongly advise not calling her that when she can hear you. Her strength would surprise you."

"So why did God create humans with these abilities?" Sam always wanted to know more, he wanted to understand whereas Dean usually just wanted to know how to deal.

"They were created to protect their fellow humans. They are the ultimate hunters. Their abilities present themselves on their twenty first birthday. That is the day they meet their Guardian Angel. The angel who will train them to become all that they can be. Victoria will be able to do much more than she can already with the proper training."

"Why can they take down angels?"

"As you have seen, angels are capable of doing bad things. These chosen were created with the idea that they would be able to help if a situation ever arose where angels became overcome with power." Cas looked at the floor, ashamed of all his past wrongs.

Dean hated seeing his friend in any kind of pain, he had been through so much.

"Why haven't we seen them before?"

Cas looked at his friend and smiled, "They are very rare. The fact you stumbled across one is well, amazing. I never thought to mention their existence before because I knew we would likely never meet one."

Sam looked down the neck of his beer, timid to ask his next question. "Will you be her Guardian?" He didn't look at Dean, he didn't want to see his face.

"I feel a responsibility toward her, yes. However, I am not a Guardian. That was not what I was created for."

"When has that stopped you?" Dean looked at Cas with admiration and a hint of pride.

"Yes, well, I am known to rebel."

Sam downed the rest of his beer and went to get two more. He knew the three of them were like brothers, and he would do anything for Cas, die for him even, but he couldn't stifle the twinge of jealousy he felt that Dean and Cas shared a more 'profound bond'. Maybe it was because he had always believed, always had faith, yet it was Dean who got the angel.

Victoria sat on the edge of the bed Mary had made up for her. She was staying the night in the 'bunker' of hunters. She laughed aloud thinking about the situation. She never would have believed herself that morning. She also wouldn't have believed she was tracking the Devil. How strange her life had become.

She wanted to be a scientist. Discover things in a lab, away from people and societal norms. She wasn't 'normal', never had been. Even before her 'abilities' came to light, she was considered strange. She was okay with that though, because she knew what she was and she was comfortable with herself. She knew it didn't matter if other people weren't, they didn't understand, and people always fear what they don't understand.

She leaned back on the bed and closed her eyes. Sleep soon found her.

"_It's the most amazing thing ever, my great grandmother's recipe, come on, you have to try it." _

"_Victoria, I am an Angel of the Lord, I do not require food." _

"_It's a chocolate pecan pie, no one requires it." _

"_Nevertheless, I cannot taste food as you humans can, when I taste food, I taste everything. It's overwhelming." _

_She looked at him inquisitively. It was her twenty fourth birthday. He was the closest thing she had ever had to a real friend. She found an ease with him, an ease that comes with no expectations outside of her abilities. An ease that allowed her to be herself in every possible manner. Because he was the same way. She understood it was because he was an angel, but to her it didn't matter, she felt that they were kindred, and she blossomed in that. _

"_Let me try something." She put her fingers to his forehead. When she removed them she put a forkful of pie into his mouth when he opened it to question her. _

_His face went from annoyance to pleasure. "I do not know how you accomplished that Victoria Doyle, but that tasted perfect." _

_She smiled with self-satisfaction. "I think I gave you human taste buds. I don't know how long it will last, but at least you got to taste the pie." _

Victoria suddenly woke up and wiped away the tears that had fallen while she was sleeping. She got up to find the kitchen. Baking always seemed to help her work through things.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading this far! I hope you are enjoying this story!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, book, TV show, or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 8

Did you wish really, really hard?

Dean Winchester woke up to the smell of bread, chocolate, and warm sugar. He was confused at first, and then worried. He thought he may have died. Again.

He wandered into the kitchen to see Victoria and Cas eating a copious amount of home baked confections. Then he spotted it. A chocolate pecan pie. Whole. He wandered over to it.

"Is this spoken for?" He asked as he was grabbing a fork from the drawer.

"All yours." Victoria said as she took a bite out of a cinnamon roll.

Dean smiled victoriously as he plunged the fork right into the center of the pie. "Oh. My. God. This is the best fudging thing I have ever eaten."

It was at that moment Dean noticed Cas was eating. "Cas, what are you doing? I thought everything tasted like molecules and that was 'unsettling'." Dean's attempt at air quotes almost made him drop his pie. He sat on the stool next to Cas to prevent any accidents.

"You know, it did, and jam is unsettling by the way, but Victoria did a thing and gave me human taste buds and this is remarkable." He said, somewhat excitedly.

Victoria smiled a bit, remembering Ezekiel. Then she continued to eat her cinnamon roll.

"How much have you had there buddy?" Dean asked, his mouth full of pie.

"A lot."

"I think he may have had too much sugar. He's excitable." Victoria looked to Dean.

"Did you bake all this?"

"I did, and I did the dishes, which is what I truly should be commended for. Dishes suck."

Dean nodded in agreement.

"You keep a very well stocked kitchen for hunters."

"It's our mom. It's a complicated situation but let's just say she's making up for lost time."

Sam and Mary wondered into the kitchen, both looked slightly horrified.

"Umm, Dean, put down the pie, it's seven in the morning." Sam was walking toward Dean slowly as if Dean had a weapon.

Dean leaned over the pie and continued to shove forkfuls into his mouth. "Never!"

Sam stopped and looked at Cas. "Cas, what are you doing, you don't eat."

Cas looked at Sam. "I do now Sam, Victoria gave me human taste buds. I do not understand how you do not eat all the time."

Sam looked to Victoria with pleading eyes. "Can you please stop this? They're going to get sick."

Mary was standing near Dean. "Dean sweetie, could you maybe save the rest of the pie for later?"

Dean reluctantly put the remaining half of the pie down on the table. Mary brought over a piece of cling wrap to cover it with. Victoria decided that Dean Winchester had mother issues as well as father issues. She decided to never approach that if she could help it.

She turned to the Angel.

"Castiel?"

He looked to her for a moment. "Yes, Victoria?"

"Sam wants you to stop eating. He's worried you'll get a tummy ache." She couldn't believe she was saying this and this was happening.

Cas nodded in agreement and went to join Dean in the main room.

Victoria looked to Sam. "Is that what you wanted?" She took a drink of her coffee.

"Yes, thank you."

"Hey mom, would you mind taking the coffee to Dean and Cas? I have a feeling they're going to need it."

"Sure honey." Mary took the coffee pot and three mugs out to the main room.

"You bake?"

"I do." She took another drink of her coffee. She couldn't discern why the tall one wanted to talk to her alone. She didn't like that, she liked knowing.

He sat across from her. "What's it feel like, to be chosen for good?"

Oh, she could handle this. "Truth be told Sam, I don't feel much. Of anything. At all."

She knew why he was asking. The memories Castiel had given her showed that Sam had been chosen for evil. He looked disappointed in her answer.

"Do you think that's because of your abilities?"

"My lack of feeling? No, not at all. It's who I am Sam. It's just me. I don't get close to people. I work with people." She drank more of her coffee. She became mildly upset that the coffee pot was in the other room.

"I don't believe that. I think you're covering."

"Why?" He piqued her interest, which was difficult for a human to do.

"I saw how you reacted to the news of Ezekiel. That was his coat, wasn't it?"

She instantly became defensive, but the anger quickly subsided. It was replaced with sadness and a great sense of loss. She forgot she was wearing it over her pajamas. She lightly touched the buttons that ran down the double breasted front.

"It was. Or rather his vessels' I suppose. Regardless, it still smells like him, my Angel. Somehow his essence remains. He left it on my banister the last day I saw him. He taught me how to heal him that day." She couldn't believe she opened up to him like that. He was practically a stranger. She looked at him to gauge his reaction.

Sam had a sad smile. "You loved him?"

"Yes, I suppose I did."

"Were you in love with him?"

This time the anger didn't subside. She looked at Sam intently.

"No, not every meaningful relationship comes down to that. He was an angel, they don't feel those things."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate…"

"It doesn't matter. It's not of consequence." She got up and went to go put on regular clothes. She had to get out of there, she was opening up to them and that was unacceptable.

Sam came into the main room and sat down at the table with the others.

"Buffy can bake." Dean had this look in his eyes that both Sam and Mary were concerned over.

"Dean, stop calling her that, you're going to say it in front of her accidently." Cas looked concerned. "If I am to be her Guardian, we five will be spending a lot of time together, so please, don't call her Buffy."

Victoria changed into regular clothes before slipping her coat back on. She looked at her phone and saw she had a text message. She preferred texting over talking. She didn't like talking on the phone, or otherwise. She sat down on the edge of the bed before reading it.

_Your particular services are needed. Oklahoma City Police. ASAP._

She didn't recognize the number but that wasn't uncommon. She figured tracking Lucifer would be over the long haul anyway, so why not take side jobs in between? If she could just convince the Angel to go with her…

Victoria walked into the main room, bag in hand. Everyone was staring at her again, and that made her uncomfortable, for she had done nothing remarkable.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay in your… bunker. I have a job I have to go to in Oklahoma City. Afterwards, I will contact you so we can continue our search for Lucifer. I will continue to monitor any signs."

Dean got up and unfastened his robe. "We'll go with you, won't we Sammy? Just got to get dressed." He walked towards his room.

Sam was much milder, "I mean, we can, if you want. You know, so you won't spoil your coat?" He felt bad he upset her earlier, guilt was always at the forefront of his mind.

Victoria only really wanted Castiel, but she knew she still had to play along, because they were his world. Her eyes must have wandered towards him because Sam said,

"Cas, you'll come too right?"

Cas looked at Mary, "Will you be okay?"

Mary smiled sweetly, "I think I'll be just fine. I think this will be good for you boys."

Victoria thought it was very odd that a millennial old being would be referred to as 'boy'.

"Then, yes." Cas said as he stood up.

Sam went to go get ready and Mary followed.

Castiel walked over to Victoria. "You can trust them, they are good people."

"Okay."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, TV show, book, or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 9

Really?

Victoria Doyle looked over at her passenger. "You're too big for this car."

Sam looked over at her and shrugged. "I'm not even quite sure how this happened."

She knew how it happened. They were leaving the bunker and at first Dean suggested they all ride in the Impala. Victoria read Cas's mind and figured out he never got to ride shotgun, so she suggested they take two cars and Castiel could ride shotgun with her. Well, then Dean decided that Cas could ride shotgun with him and Sam could ride with her. Life was much easier with one Angel and only humans to save, not contend with.

"Your head is almost touching the roof."

"I'm sorry?"

"How did you make an apology interrogative?"

"Are you impressed?"

"Mildly."

Sam smiled. Sam was one of those people who liked to be liked, by humans that is. He couldn't have cared any less what other species thought of him. In fact, he hoped they were scared. He loved people, and he wanted them to love him back. He enjoyed saving them, helping humans go on. He took solace in knowing people were alive because he helped them. It's what helped him to get out of bed in the morning.

Victoria went over in her head the occurrences of the last twenty four hours. She had met an Angel who came with two hunters. She needed the Angel, but didn't want the two hunters. Not full time at least. However, she could tell it was a package deal. She couldn't have one without all three. She couldn't fathom how codependent they all were.

She preferred state highways over interstates. She thought they were more intriguing. She programmed her GPS to follow her whim. The highway was flat, monotonous.

Sam couldn't handle the silence anymore. "Where do you keep all your gear?"

She didn't enjoy being interrupted while she was thinking, even if what she was thinking about was not of import. "My what?"

"Your gear? Guns, knives, salt?"

"I don't require them."

Sam pressed his lips together and nodded slightly. "Right."

Sam opened the glove box to look at her cassettes.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for Music?"

"You just opened up my glove box without permission and go rummaging for tapes?"

"Yes."

"What if there had been personal items in there?"

"I would've closed it. But I figured you had tapes in here."

She didn't like the tall, astute one's attitude towards permission. Granted, she had the same outlook, but she didn't like it on others.

Sam looked though her tapes carefully. The Eagles, Hank Williams, Don Williams, Journey, The Beatles, The Hollies.

"You have eclectic taste in music."

He was going to make her converse. She figured she might as well run with it. "Yes, I do. I think that limiting oneself to one particular type of music is artistically confining. There are so many wonderful artists and songs, they should all be given a chance."

Sam put The Eagles tape in the player. "Take it Easy" began to play. Sam turned the volume down a bit, so they could hear each other.

"Do you like hunting?"

Victoria rolled her eyes in her head. Is wasn't that she didn't enjoy people's company from time to time, she just preferred it when it was on her terms. She thought she might have to compromise. The idea made her shudder.

"I suppose I do, yes. I didn't really choose it though. I wanted to be a scientist. I have a degree in Chemistry with minors in Biology and Sociology."

"Sociology?"

"I tried to understand people. It didn't work."

Sam laughed lightly.

"You seem to excel at it. Talking with people."

Sam couldn't discern if she was being sarcastic or not.

"Really?"

"Yesterday with the witness, you showed what appeared to be genuine concern. I noticed, which makes it important, I don't normally pay attention to people's emotions. I just do my job, then go on."

"Doesn't that get lonely? I mean wouldn't you like to be with someone else? Maybe a guy, or girl?" Sam became instantly embarrassed and tried to backtrack, "Not that you're, or not, I mean it's okay, whatever, it's all okay, I…."

Victoria smiled, "Don't hurt yourself Sam, I know it's okay."

"So you are a…"

"Sam, I've known you for thirty hours now. I think that you are a nice, somewhat intelligent, abnormally tall man. However, I am not going to divulge details to you about my personal life. That is not who I am. I have had working relationships with people for five or six years and they know nothing of my personal life. To be frank, your knowing my taste in music is the closest I've been to anyone in a good length of time."

"So the lonely thing?"

"I enjoy my own company. I'm always the smartest one in the room."

"I think you would be anyway."

Victoria nodded. "Probably."

She heard something then and quickly shut off the radio. She pulled over to the side of the highway with the Chevy right behind.

"Not that I do not enjoy riding shotgun Dean, but I do not understand why you did not want me to ride with Victoria. We have a lot of things to discuss."

Dean ran his hand along his chin.

"I don't know Cas, I don't think I trust her yet."

"You ate her pie. Well, half the pie, the other half is in the backseat."

Dean perked up and smiled, "Oh yeah!"

"She can bake Cas, she does have that going for her, but she could end you."

"She could end all of us, she is one of The Chosen."

"Yeah, why didn't you mention that before?"

"I told you, I didn't think we would ever come across one."

"You can't sense them? Where they are?"

"No, angels and demons can only tell what they are when they are in front of us. The only ones who can sense them are the Guardians, and they are sworn to secrecy. They are the most trusted of angels."

"They can't be hacked?"

"No, that would be impossible."

Dean took a moment before he spoke again. He thought over the last eight years and how difficult they were for all three of them.

"She could've helped us with so many things, Cas. The apocalypse, Leviathans, you when you were hacked, Crowley, Metatron, Amara, everything."

Cas looked down at his hands. "Are you envious?"

Dean looked at his friend accusingly, "Of what?"

"Her distance."

"Yeah, I guess a little. I mean, she has all these abilities, and she what, hunts vampires? She should have been saving the world while we were out hunting vamps."

"I see your point Dean, and I can see why you may not immediately trust her. However, trust me."

Dean looked at Cas and halfway smiled. "Yeah."

Dean noticed the Mustang pulling over to the side of the old state highway.

"What the hell?'


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Thank you so, so much for reading! I hope you enjoy!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, TV show, book, or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 10

There will most certainly not be blood

Victoria closed her eyes and put her head against the steering wheel. She had to focus. Sam could sense that and got out of the car to meet Dean and Cas.

"What's going on?"

"I think she may have heard something. We should probably give her a minute to figure it out."

Dean had a cocky grin as he leaned against his baby to more comfortably talk to Sam. "So, did you bond?"

Sam put his hands on his side. "You know, she's really not that bad. Just takes some getting used to." Sam put one of his hands on Cas' shoulder. "We've done that before."

Cas looked confused but was unable to ask any questions because Victoria was heading their way.

"As luck would have it, there's a vampire close by. About a mile up the road, in a small abandoned house. He has a girl there. I think we can make it in time to spare her life."

Dean was aghast with the ease with which she said that, and the fact she wasn't moving.

"Let's go. We'll follow you."

Victoria nodded and they got back in their cars.

She turned to Sam. "You may want to use your seatbelt."

As soon as she heard the 'click' Victoria squealed the tires of the Mustang as she got back on the road. She redlined each time before switching to the next gear. Sam held onto the dash with one hand and kept looking at her. He was impressed and scared at the same time.

She downshifted to third harshly as they got on the dirt road leading to the house. Dust was flying everywhere. Sam was worried Dean wouldn't be able to see. They stopped abruptly in front of what looked to be a shack. Victoria ripped the handbrake up and turned the car off. She pocketed the keys and rushed out of the car.

Sam followed her instinctively. He drew his gun to cover her. Dean and Cas were close behind. Dean took enough time to pull a blade from the trunk. He also grabbed a hypodermic needle full of dead man's blood.

Victoria stepped aside so Sam could kick the door open. "Crap." Sam heard her mutter right before she walked in.

A tall man was holding a knife to a young girl's throat.

Victoria stepped forward to allow Cas and Dean access into the shack.

"Come closer and I'll kill her!" The vampire shouted as he pressed his blade into the girl's neck even harder.

"Look, just drop the knife, okay? Let the girl go and we can figure this out."

Victoria looked at Dean. "Does that ever work?"

"Shut up!" The vampire yelled.

Sam still had his gun drawn on the vampire. He was thinking about his possible shots. He knew it wouldn't kill the blood sucker, but it may buy them some time.

"What do you want us to do?" Victoria asked. Her tone was that of boredom.

"Leave, bitch."

She could feel Cas stir behind her. She smiled inwardly.

Victoria began to walk around the room. She knew he wasn't going to cut the girl, he was entranced. The vampire's gaze followed her. "First of all, Eddie, that was rude. Second, we can't leave, because you are holding that young lady against her will. We don't take kindly to that. Third, you've been so busy watching me, not that I can blame you, that you didn't notice the giant about to put a 45 caliber bullet into your brain."

Eddie turned around so that Sam shot him square in-between the eyes. The impact caused him to fall on the ground, as he did so his blade cut into the girl's neck. Cas and Dean rushed over to her as Victoria leaned over the Vampire.

"I'm really not sorry Eddie. Before you go, I want you to know that we're going to pay your friends a visit before we leave."

The vampire started to rise, anger and determination written on his face. Victoria put her palm on his forehead and a bright light came out of his eye sockets before he fell on the floor once more.

Victoria pulled out a red handkerchief from her coat pocket. She wiped off her hands as she stood. She put the handkerchief back in her pocket and turned to face the men.

"Is she alright?"

The girl was leaning against Dean. "She will be, Cas took care of the neck thing."

"Good. Can you two take her home? Sam and I will head to the police station."

Cas nodded, "Of course."

Before they got into their separate cars, Dean touched Victoria's arm and motioned for her to follow him. They stopped about twenty feet from the others.

"What is it?"

Dean ran his fingers through his hair and really looked at her. For the first time he noticed she was pretty. She was tall for a woman, just four inches shorter than him. Her hair was the darkest shade of blonde and fell half a foot below her shoulders. He smiled a little, thinking back to all those years ago when her outward appearance would have been the first and most likely only thing he noticed. He was proud of himself for observing her less than desirable personality first.

"I just wanted to say you drove the hell out of that 'Stang. I was impressed."

"You couldn't have said that in front of your brother and Castiel?" She looked agitated, and not at all flattered.

"No, I don't compliment in front of others."

He was surprised to see the tiniest trace of a smile play upon her face.

"Also, I heard you tell, uh Eddie, that we would pay his friends a visit."

"Yes."

Dean waited for her to elaborate. She didn't. He looked exasperated.

"What did that mean?"

"He was part of a nest. Since Oklahoma City is less than forty five minutes outside of here, I'm fairly certain that is what the case is about. We will check in with the police first, just to be sure."

"Either way, we'll snuff it."

"Of course. Can we leave now?"

"Yeah."

Victoria was becoming more impressed by the tall one. It was the first time they had actually worked together and he knew why she was moving about the room drawing the vampire's attention, to give one of them an opportunity. He took it.

"What would you have done if we weren't there?"

"I would have ran at him, hopefully reaching him before he hurt the girl. If I was too slow I would have hopefully been able to heal her before it was too late."

"You can't bring them back?"

"From the dead? No."

"Angels can."

"I am not an angel, Sam. However, I think I would be able to do more than I currently can with training. Hopefully your Angel can help me with that."

"He's not our Angel. We've been through a lot. He likes us. Well, Dean more than me. They share a more 'profound bond'". Sam did air quotes.

Victoria debated on whether or not to discuss that matter further, but she wasn't given a choice. Sam continued to speak. She concluded these gentlemen had a lot of emotional issues. That made her uncomfortable.

"I mean, I know the three of us are like brothers, but they're closer you know?"

She didn't know, and she didn't particularly care.

"Uh huh." She looked at her GPS. Twenty minutes until they reached the police station. She sighed.

Sam couldn't really determine why he kept talking, he just did. It was as if he couldn't stop himself. Maybe it was because she was a captive audience, and he couldn't discuss these things with Dean, Cas, or his Mom.

Victoria lamented the fact that other than her physical strength she had no power over humans. If she had the ability, she would have made him fall asleep.

"It's not that I'm jealous, I'm glad Dean is able to have a relationship with someone other than me, but I feel left out sometimes I guess. I mean he made me ride with you." Sam realized what he said, "Not that I didn't want to, it's just…"

Victoria couldn't take anymore. "Sam. Castiel accidently gave me all his memories. From that I learned that he saved you both from Hell, died for both of you, butchered a pig so you could eat a sandwich, and would die for either one of you a thousand times over. Greater love hath no man than that. But yes, their personalities seem to mesh more. I'm sorry."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Sam, I don't make people feel better. That's not what I do. I've had one true friend my entire life. He didn't need validation or consolation, or whatever it is you require right now. From where I sit, you are a tall, somewhat intelligent, surprisingly agile for your size, attractive by society's standards human being. You should be content with that."

Sam smirked, "You think I'm attractive?"

Victoria put her left hand in her hair and leaned against the driver side window.

"That's what you got from that?"

Sam nodded.

"I think you're exasperating Sam Winchester."

"I'll win you over."

"Good luck."


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other book, movie, TV Show, or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 11

Deductions and Preparations

Victoria and Sam pulled into the police station parking lot. Sam felt out of place in his usual plaid and jeans. Victoria noticed his unease.

"It's fine. You won't be asked any questions."

"Are you sure you can't read human minds?"

"No, just humans."

They got out of the car and headed inside.

The desk clerk stood up to meet them. "Miss Doyle? Thank goodness you're here. We are having body after body turn up, which is just causing people to ask questions we can't answer."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it. I have three colleagues. I assume whoever referred you told you my fee?"

"Yes, we have a check made out here." She rummaged around in the top drawer of her desk. She found the paper and handed it to Victoria. She put it in the inside pocket of her coat. "We didn't know you were working with others, I'll need their names for the checks."

"Cash only for my colleagues."

The desk clerk looked taken aback. "I will have to work on that. Will tomorrow be okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. Will you point us in the direction of the bodies?"

The station was big, police officers were running around every which way. Sam and Victoria had to dodge several to make it to the morgue.

The Medical Examiner was a middle aged man with bright red hair and thick black rimmed glasses.

He looked up when his two visitors entered. Victoria took a pair of gloves from the box on the wall and put them on. Sam followed suit.

"You must be the special detectives. I'm Doctor Green."

"Hello Doctor Green, I'm Victoria and this is Sam. I think you know which bodies we need to see."

The Doctor grimaced and opened a drawer. "Unfortunately, yes."

Sam was surprised when Victoria didn't immediately focus on the body, she was still looking at the Medical Examiner.

"You're new here, correct Doctor?"

"Well, yes, how did you know?"

"That's not important. However, what is important is that you had peanut butter for lunch."

"What? How did you, wait, why is that important?"

"Because you have a fondness for the desk clerk and she is allergic to peanuts. So, if you tried to start a flirtation you might get more than you bargained for. I suggest you change your shirt now and switch to something less harmful to your coworkers for future meals."

The Doctor looked down at his shirt and excused himself as he left the room.

Sam smiled and looked at her. "How?"

"He had remnants of peanut butter and jelly on his shirt and she had an epi pen in her top desk drawer."

"And the crush?"

"He had her card on his workstation with an additional phone number under the work one. Written in a woman's hand."

Sam shook his head and focused once more on the body. "There are definitely bite marks." He opened another drawer while Victoria looked at the files.

"Their blood was drained as well."

Sam looked at the bite marks on the other bodies. "Yep, vampires."

* * *

Sam was just about to call Dean from the police station parking lot when the Impala pulled up and parked beside the Mustang.

"Where's Buffy?"

"She's inside figuring out how much money we're getting paid. She called us her 'colleagues'. I've never been a colleague."

"You've been a lot of other things Sam."

Sam looked hard at his brother. He noticed Dean was wincing off and on and shifting his weight back and forth.

"You ate the rest of that pie didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"I told you…"

"It was delicious, and worth whatever intestinal duress I am under right now."

"It has not been a pleasant car ride."

"Shut up Cas."

"I think you emotionally scarred that girl."

"Right, it was my stomach and not the Vampire that was trying to kill her that did that."

"I know that was intended to be sarcasm, but I do not think you're wrong."

Dean just had this look of being completely done with the Angel.

"They only agreed to pay for two rooms at the hotel tonight, so y'all will have to figure that one out amongst yourselves." Victoria said as she approached the men.

"The police are paying for us to stay at a hotel?" Dean sounded more impressed than he wanted to.

"Of course, we're solving their problem. Which we need to discuss. It will be nightfall soon, no lives are in danger tonight, so I suggest we head to the hotel. Sound good?"

The men nodded.

"Sam and Cas are going to ride with you, Tori, I don't want to emotionally scar anyone else."

"Dean."

Dean pretended not to hear Cas as he got behind the wheel of his car.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to ride in the back seat, Castiel. This one barely fits in the front." She motioned towards Sam.

Sam pushed his seat forward so Cas could slide behind. "This is not very spacious."

"It's a Mustang, it wasn't intended to be spacious, it was intended to be awesome."

Sam laughed, she sounded like Dean then.

"Your brother gave me a nickname."

Cas interjected from the back, "He does that."

"I don't like it."

"He won't care." Sam told her.

* * *

Dean was in awe of how nice the hotel was.

"Sammy, this place has a lobby. With employees. In uniforms."

"I see that Dean."

Victoria walked over to them with two key cards.

"Here you are gentleman." She handed Sam one of the cards. "Our rooms are adjoined, please do not take advantage of that. Also, no mini bar. I do not get reimbursed for those purchases." She turned to walk away and then looked back at Dean, "Or any other purchases." She repositioned the backpack on her shoulder and went to get on the elevator.

Dean caught her by the arm. "One room. We're three dudes. Can't one of us stay with you?" Dean tried his most charming smile on her. The smile that never let him down.

"No. And you are two dudes who are brothers, and one Angel. He does not require sleep. He can sit on the couch."

"That's true Dean."

Dean both loved and hated the fact Cas was often so oblivious. At least Sam got a kick out of it.

Victoria smiled and removed her arm from Dean's grasp. "I'll be by later to go over our plans for the morning."

* * *

Dean fell back on the soft bed. "Dude, this mattress is amazing. And the blanket thing? Clean."

Sam snorted lightly. He was glad Dean could still be happy about such little things.

Cas was flipping through the stations on the television. Sam was scanning the news to see if any more people had 'popped'.

The three of them had become accustomed to each other, to the point where their togetherness was effortless.

There was a slight knock on the door that adjoined their room to Victoria's.

Dean got up from his bed to open it.

Victoria brushed past him and sat a case on Sam's bed. She was wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt but had Ezekiel's coat over them.

She opened the case to reveal bullets.

Dean closed the door and muttered, "Come on in." He walked over to her. Sam put down his iPad and looked in the case as well. Cas decided he wasn't needed and continued to watch television.

"We have plenty of ammo, Tori, thanks anyway."

Victoria glared at him. "I doubt it. These are hollow points with congealed dead man's blood inside. I specifically made them for vampire nests. You both have 45's?"

Sam nodded before he looked at Dean. "She has a degree in Chemistry."

Dean had to admit, he was impressed.

Victoria put 32 rounds in a plastic bag she had in the case and handed it to Sam.

"What do you carry?"

Victoria looked at Dean and pulled a Kimber 1911 9mm with a 5 inch barrel out of the pocket of her coat. She took out the clip, pulled the slide back to make sure it was empty and handed it to Dean.

"Nice."

"Thank you. I'm fond of it."

"Why'd you go with a nine?"

"The mag holds seventeen instead of seven. The recoil's lessened, and the bullet is faster."

"But the 45's bigger."

Victoria took her gun back as Dean held it out to her. She put the clip back in before returning it to her coat pocket.

"Which is not always better."

Sam smirked as he watched his brother's face. He didn't know what would become of them and this girl, but so far he was enjoying the ride. Victoria closed the case and went to sit across from Cas. Sam and Dean followed. Cas turned the TV off as he looked to Victoria.

Victoria waited for Sam and Dean to sit before she started talking.

"The nest is just shy of ten miles from here."

"You can read them from that distance?"

She smiled at the Angel. "Yes. This is the biggest nest I have ever personally encountered. There are twenty one vampires in all. Some are very old."

Dean swallowed, "Twenty one?"

She nodded. "Fortunately for us, at this time they do not have any captives. That prevents us from having to distract or pretend to negotiate. That always complicates matters. We will arrive tomorrow morning, they will be slightly disoriented. We should shoot as many as we can first and then finish them off once they are poisoned. They are making a graveyard of this city."

"If one of us gets caught, what's the plan?"

Victoria turned her head to the side ever so slightly while she focused on Sam. "Do not get caught."

"But what if that just happens?"

Sam didn't have as much regard for his life before his mother came back, but now the last thing he wanted was for her to burn a son.

Victoria ran over the necessary memories of Castiel's in her head. She could see why Sam asked that. They always negotiated for each other. It was one of the rare moments in her life she was unsure of how to respond.

She looked at Castiel. "I know your wings are broken, which is why I'm asking, I don't fully understand what you can and cannot do, but if one of them dies, can you bring them back?"

Cas nodded, "I can."

Victoria looked back at Sam. "If you or Dean find yourself captured, we will still take down the nest. If you die or suffer grievous injury Castiel will bring you back."

"Great." Dean muttered. "What if you or Cas get caught?"

"By a vampire?"

"Yup."

"We'll kill it." She really didn't understand why the shorter one was asking her that, it seemed self-explanatory.

After Victoria retired to her own room Dean looked at Sam and Cas.

"Does she seem 'off' to you? Just in general?"

Cas stood up and walked over to Dean. "We cannot imagine what she has been through. She is one of The Chosen, their lives are not anywhere along the normal path."

"Well, she can join the club."

"Not that your life has not had it's great share of difficulties, but neither Sam, nor I, nor you, can fully comprehend what she is or what her life experiences have been. She is a very special human, and that might be accompanied by what you might call 'quirks.'"

Dean never thought Cas would be the normal one.

"She just seems like more of a robot than a girl. Is that the abilities?"

"I do not know Dean. I'm not sure how she works."

Sam stood up and walked over to them. "Go easy on her. She lost the one being who meant anything to her. I've been there, and she's coping pretty well."

Dean smiled sadly as he roughly patted the shoulder of his big little brother. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna try and sleep. Big vamp nest tomorrow."


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Thank you so, so much for reading! And thank you so much for the review and follows / favorites! It is so very much appreciated!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books, tv shows, movies or song/music referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 12

And that's how it's done gentlemen

Dean walked into his hotel room with two plates full of food. "Sam, you have got to go down there, breakfast is free. And they have like everything."

Victoria stared at him. "Your brother and Castiel went to get gas for your car before we go. You've been gone awhile."

Dean looked slightly embarrassed, shrugged it off, free food was free food after all, and sat on the couch.

Victoria sat opposite him, waiting for the others to return. She had already finished packing. While Dean was eating, she decided to go to her brain attic to go over some of Castiel's memories involving the Winchesters. She thought they might help her anticipate their actions.

She wasn't able to go too far back before she became inquisitive.

"You were a demon?"

Dean almost choked as he finished swallowing a large bite of pancake.

"Dammit Cas." Why'd he have to give her all his memories? "Yeah, but I'm not anymore."

"I see. How was that?"

"Honestly, freeing. I just didn't care anymore. About anything. Not Sam, or Cas, or people, it was just what I wanted all the time. But Sam saved me."

"Right, with the blood cure, that's…. interesting. Did you want to be saved?" Victoria normally didn't care about people's motives or feelings, she was used to dealing with their consequences, but this was an extraordinary case and her curiosity got the better of her.

Dean stopped eating for a moment and looked at her. For the second time. She was more human this time somehow, less machine. The room was warm and her coat caused her cheeks to flush ever so slightly. He actually felt a wave of worry for what they were walking into. It subsided and he answered her.

"Right then, when I was a demon, no. I tried to kill him, actually. But when I was human again I was glad he did it. I don't want to be a demon."

"For a normal demon though, one that is possessing a body, wouldn't curing it be cruel?"

Dean's mouth was full of pancake again, "What?"

"Well, if a cure meant that the demon felt human things, wouldn't it just be consumed with guilt? Moreover, wouldn't it still be damned to hell? So, wouldn't it be like you were causing a soul immense pain?" She narrowed her eyes at him, anticipating his answer.

"I honestly didn't think of it like that. But yeah, it'd probably be better to kill it."

Dean ate a few more bites before he thought of a question for her.

"So, if you can read angel's thoughts, why didn't you stop Cas before he flooded your brain with, well, everything?"

"I can turn that 'off'. I didn't listen to Ezekiel's thoughts after the first time we met. With Castiel, I stopped listening almost immediately."

"Because you trusted him?"

"Yes, and because his thoughts were confusing. They were unlike any other supernatural creature I have encountered, including Ezekiel."

Dean was intrigued. "Oh yeah? Like how?"

Victoria was torn. She knew this Winchester was the closest one to Castiel, Sam had confirmed that. She surmised the better she got along with him the more willing he would be to share his angel. However, she did not want to betray Castiel. She decided to tell Dean some things and leave others out.

"Ezekiel was protective of me, but not in a way that would cause himself harm. He knew his and my limitations, he never put us in a situation where either one of us would be hurt, he could always predict the outcome. Castiel, on the other hand, would place himself in harm's way intentionally if it would spare your life, or that of your brother's. He is fiercely devoted to your family and cause. Even though he is not a Guardian, he considers himself your guardian angel. When I walked into your bunker the first thought I heard was his wondering how he was going to entertain your Mother. He was worried about that because his biggest fear is disappointing you again."

Dean didn't know what he was expecting, but that was not it. He got up to put his plates in the trash to cover up the fact his eyes were welling with tears. He knew he meant a lot to Cas, but somehow someone else telling him just how much made it hit home.

Victoria looked at her phone, stood up, and threw her bag onto her shoulder. She grabbed Dean's off his bed and handed it to him as she walked to the door.

"They're waiting."

* * *

Victoria threw her bag into the back of her Mustang before standing next to the back left door of the Impala.

Dean looked surprised. "You're riding with me?"

"It will be easier to take one car. I admit it can't be mine."

"See, sometimes size does matter."

Victoria smiled a little in spite of herself. She opened the door and sat in the car, closing the door behind her.

Cas was about to sit next to her when Dean stopped him. "Sit up front Cas."

"But Sam…"

Dean stuck his head in the driver's side door. "Sam, get out."

Sam did so and switched positions with the Angel. Sam was so taken aback he didn't even argue.

* * *

The nest was inside a large barn long ago neglected by farmers who just couldn't keep up with Corporate America.

The group stopped about half a mile outside of it so the unwelcome inhabitants wouldn't hear the engine.

Victoria felt what she surmised must be nerves for the first time since she started this line of work. It bothered her that she couldn't ascertain why she was nervous. She decided it was because there were so many vampires at one time. However, she knew that wasn't really the reason and that bothered her all the more.

Sam and Dean were getting supplies out of the trunk. She walked over to Castiel. "There's a lot of vampires in there, can you shoot?"

Cas thought for a moment, "I have once before. It proved effective."

Victoria smirked, "It can be." She opened her coat and pulled a Ruger LC9s out of one of her coat pockets. She pulled the clip out, made sure it was loaded with her special bullets, put the clip back in, pulled the slide back, and handed it to Cas. He awkwardly took it. "It's loaded and ready to go. There's no safety or anything like that, just point and shoot."

"It is little."

"Yes, but it is effective, as you said."

"I normally do not require anything other than my angel blade. I can smite."

"I know, but twenty-one is a good deal to handle, even for four experienced hunters. Or two experienced hunters, one angel, and one supernatural consulting detective. Plus, you only have two smiting hands. Now you have one smiting hand and seven bullets. If for no other reason please take it because it will make me feel better."

Cas smiled, "You care?"

"About you, yes."

Sam and Dean shut the trunk before they walked over.

"You gave Cas a gun? How many guns do you have in that coat?"

Victoria looked at the shorter one. "Just the two."

Sam thought for a moment and looked at Cas. "Can't you just wipe the whole place out in one big smiting swoop? Like you did at the diner?"

Cas looked down and shook his head from side to side.

Dean patted his friend on the back. "It's alright, we got this." He glared at Sam as he started towards the barn.

Victoria pulled her Kimber out of her coat and pulled the slide back to chamber a bullet. Sam and Dean did the same.

When they got to the barn door Victoria whispered, "They are all asleep, and scattered. The first shot we fire will rouse them all, and they will be on us, quick. When they are tired they do not think too well, and that will be to our advantage. Get as many shots off as you can, after they are all down, we'll behead. Just shoot, don't worry as much about aim, anywhere you hit them will knock them down. Try to stay together as much as possible, so we will have coverage on all sides."

The three nodded.

Dean led them in, his gun held directly in front of him. Victoria and Sam held theirs exactly the same way, Cas had his held down at his side.

Dean walked slowly through the barn, he was looking for a good vantage point. There wasn't a loft, so they wouldn't be able to have height. Dean looked in front of him and saw a Vampire lumbering toward him. Dean fired and the vamp went down, hard.

"They're coming." Victoria whispered.

Twenty vampires came running at them from all directions. Shots were being fired from all four guns. Between the noise and all the vampires, the four drifted away from each other.

Victoria could hear four of them focus on Castiel. She turned around to see him shoot one vampire in the head with his right hand and smite another with his left. The other two were advancing on him from behind. She didn't have a clear shot on either of them. She shoved her gun in her pocket and ran to the two vamps. She pulled them down onto the floor by their hair. Without ever seeing their faces she placed her palms on their foreheads while she was leaning down. She kept her eyes on Castiel the whole time. Once she no longer felt them move she got up and redrew her gun.

Six more were coming towards them. From every side. She noticed that the slide had slammed back on the Ruger Castiel was holding. He looked at it confoundedly. She handed him her Kimber and took the Ruger from his other hand. She quickly pulled the clip out and replaced it with another from her pocket. As soon as she pushed the slide release she shot three vamps down. She heard three shots from her Kimber followed by three thuds.

She listened. Two female vampires were having very inappropriate thoughts about Dean as they were attempting to sneak up behind him. Victoria surmised they had less than thirty seconds. The vamps were moving slow.

She touched Cas on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow her. The two female vampires were so focused on Dean they didn't even sense an Angel and a Chosen One behind them.

"Hello ladies." Victoria said.

The vampires turned around suddenly and hissed as they charged at Victoria. Victoria dropped the Ruger into her pocket as she threw her hands up to smite them. The light came and they fell.

Dean looked surprised and impressed.

"Behind" Victoria muttered as Castiel turned around to smite a vampire coming up behind him.

It was silent, except for the low groaning of seventeen vampires writhing in the pain brought on by dead man's blood.

That was all of them.

Sam lowered his gun as he walked over toward the three of them. "Is that it?"

"They are all either incapacitated or dead. Now, we need to finish the job."

The men nodded. Sam and Dean pulled blades from their waistbands and went to work.

Castiel handed her back the Kimber. "I like this one better. It's bigger."

Victoria halfway chuckled. "I think you should have one of your very own."

Castiel continued to stand next to her as she pulled the slide back to remove the bullet from the chamber. She put it back in the clip and then returned it to the inside of her coat. She did the same with the Ruger.

"I don't know how much more I would be able to teach you. You are aware of my limitations."

"Yes, but I would much rather have a fallen angel with broken wings than no angel at all. If you would have me."

Castiel looked at her and smiled slightly. "I think it is the other way around."

"I think you underestimate yourself Castiel. You are so much more than you think yourself to be."

Sam and Dean found their way back to them. Dean was wiping blood off his face.

Victoria subconsciously stepped back from him.

"Not everyone can kill a Vamp with a touch, princess."

"Dean." Cas said sternly.

"Sorry." Dean muttered.

Sam and Cas were both surprised by the half-assed apology, normally their reprimands were ignored, sometimes sneered at.

"Do you have any accelerant?"

Sam spoke up, "We have lighter fluid in the trunk."

"That won't be enough." Victoria began rummaging around the barn.

She looked far too determined to be questioned. Sam had an idea what direction she was headed in.

"Let's pile the bodies up in the middle."

Dean looked over it. "Really?"

"If you're too old and tired to drag bodies, could you drive the car up?"

Dean decided he could do that.

Sam and Cas dragged the vampire bodies two by two to the middle of the barn.

Victoria was waiting on Dean with a large plastic bucket and a hose when he pulled the car to the entrance.

As soon as he parked she opened the gas tank and began to thread the hose into it.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing?"

"Siphoning gas."

"From my baby?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Dean couldn't think of one.

* * *

Sam poured the gasoline over the bodies. He took a matchbook out of his pocket, struck one match to light the others, gazed at the bodies for a moment then threw the lighted matchbook onto them. They burst into flames.

When they were all in the car heading to the hotel Victoria looked over at Sam and inquired, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Burn the whole book of matches? One would have been just as effective. Then you would have had the rest for subsequent vampire roastings."

Sam never really thought about it before. "I don't know, that's just always what we've done."

"I think it was dramatic."

Sam looked over at her and nodded. "I think you're right."

* * *

The Impala followed the Mustang to the police station, their last stop in the Oklahoma City adventure.

The guys sat in the Chevy waiting for her return.

They all got out of the car when they saw her come toward them. She handed each of them a $2,000 pack of $100 dollar bills.

"Two thousand dollars? Each?" Dean couldn't believe it.

"Yes, $1,000 a day."

"How much do you get?"

"That's personal."

"It's more isn't it?"

"Personal."

Victoria normally left them here, at this point. The hunt was over, the job was done.

She felt awkward, she did not know where to go from here. When she was trying to fit in, before she realized it was okay to be herself, she went on a few dates. This felt like the end of one of those.

"It was nice working with you gentlemen." She internally screamed, this was just like a date. She laughed sardonically and leaned against her car. She noticed the three of them were staring at her. She didn't blame them.

"Look, I don't know what happens from here. I've never been beyond this point. Normally this is where we part ways and chances are we never see each other again, and typically that's how I like it."

Dean understood, "I get that."

Sam exhaled shortly and stepped closer to her. "But we're different. Is it because of Cas?"

"That's one reason, yes." Victoria couldn't explain the other reasons, she didn't quite understand them herself. Not yet anyway.

"What are the others?"

Victoria averted her eyes from the taller one, "I don't know."

Sam nodded, "Okay. Well, we could use your help. Lucifer is trying to find a vessel and when he does, we will need your help to do something with him. Why don't you come back to the bunker with us? Cas can start your training, and our mom likes you. She asked about you every time we called."

It sounded like family, something Victoria had never really been too fond of.

"I don't know." She truly didn't. She had lived by herself for so long that anything else seemed strange. She wasn't completely put off by the idea. She did enjoy working with them. They were quick, smart, and good at getting the job done. Plus, there was the angel.

Cas wanted to try and convince her to come, but the bunker wasn't technically his, so he held his tongue.

"Aw, come on Tor, Sammy doesn't invite too many people over, don't turn him down, he may never have the courage to ask anyone again."

Sam looked at Dean sternly. Dean just grinned.

"Plus, you can bake. Pie, preferably. Always pie."

She smiled in spite of herself. What was happening to her?

"Okay, I'll follow you?" Victoria quickly opened the door of her Mustang and got in.

She was surprised when Dean got into her passenger seat.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: I am so sorry for such a long time between updates! Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this story! I hope it is able to provide some entertainment. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other songs/tv shows/books/ and or movies that are mentioned in this tale. _

Chapter 13

Driving Dean Winchester

"Are you riding with me?"

"Thought I'd let Sammy drive. Give us some bonding time."

"Oh, fantastic, my favorite thing."

Victoria backed her car out of the parking space and started following behind Sam.

They hadn't been driving any more than five minutes when Dean started his inquiry.

"So, what's your deal?"

Victoria had talked more in the last two days with these gentlemen than she had in the last three years. Oddly enough it was becoming her new normal.

"My deal?"

"Yeah, dudes, chicks, angels, what?"

Victoria cringed. "Does it matter?"

"No, I don't judge, I just want to know. Thought you might try to take Sammy or Cas. Can't have that." His tone was serious so Victoria looked at him, she saw a small smile.

"What if I tried to take you?"

"I'd go willingly."

Victoria couldn't help herself yet again, she smiled. She inhaled sharply. Telling him now might prove beneficial. On the other hand, she might lose him altogether, she never had much luck in the past.

"I don't have a deal."

"What?" Dean wasn't expecting that.

"I don't have an attraction toward anyone."

Dean couldn't comprehend fully.

"I don't get it."

"I don't think there's really anything to 'get', it's just who I am."

Dean thought for a moment. "So you're like an angel, junkless?"

Victoria was taken aback. "That's a very crass way to put it, and no, I'm not like an angel, I am human."

"But, they are like that."

"Most of them are, yes. But who I am and how I feel has nothing to do with my abilities, it's just me. It took me a long time to be okay with myself, it's one of the reasons I try to avoid other humans."

Dean was still confused. "So you don't feel anything like that?"

Victoria sighed. "No. I do not."

"But, sex."

"Holds nothing for me."

"Nothing?"

"No."

"So, you've never?"

"No."

"So you're a?"

"Yes."

"Okay. But you're hot."

"I assume you're referring to the colloquial use of that word, in which case, thank you."

Dean halfway smiled; she was very much like Cas in some ways.

"People have tried, it is not as if there haven't been offers. The offers, along with people's inability to understand, caused me to retreat to my own company for most of the time. The solace protected me. I never harassed or misunderstood myself. It was easier. Friends were even hard to come by, I never really had a good one. Until Ezekiel."

"Oh, because he was junkless."

"Because he was remarkable. Yes, we shared that particular thing in common, but it was never brought up as it is with humans. It was not even a factor. I felt normal with him. Not just because of the attraction issue, our personalities went together as well. As you have probably discerned, I never won a personality contest."

Dean understood. He felt normal with Sam, that was one reason he felt he needed him so much. In relation to each other, they were not extraordinary or different, they understood each other completely. Things that would have to be explained to others often went unsaid.

"Well, people can be dicks."

"It's not entirely their fault. By societal standards I don't fit in, and not in the cool way. I don't play video games, or become engrossed in a particular TV show or movie series, I'm not a hipster, or a lesbian. I'm just me, I've never encountered anyone who fully understood."

"Maybe you just never met the right people."

Victoria looked at her driving companion. She read his face and was surprised to find nothing but curiosity and sympathy, he truly wasn't judging.

"You don't have family?"

She felt more at ease now, the words came effortlessly.

"My dad died from cancer around ten years ago. My mom went crazy with grief and drank herself right into an institution. As she was drying out she managed to kill herself with her bedsheet. They always thought I was an odd child who should read less and go out more. They mocked the way I spoke, told me to be normal, and praised my sister."

"You have a sister?"

"I do. She is a Bible-thumping wife and mother who tells me on every occasion she can find that I am wasting my life for not having children and marrying. Apparently I am laughing at God's plan for me. She fears for my soul, it's very kind of her to care."

"You're a Chosen one."

"Comical, isn't it?"

"Well, family doesn't end in blood."

"No, I suppose it does not."

"Zeke was your family."

Victoria smiled sadly. "Yes, he was. I just took it that he would always be there. He was immortal, after all, and strong. I was only twenty-one when I met him. I was in awe. With everything we came up against he was untouchable. Demons fled, supes scattered, it was a phenomenon. Never had I dreamt of such power. He was infallible."

Dean knew he couldn't function if he lost Sam. That's why he was never able to let Sam go. He would always sacrifice himself for Sam, but the thought of it being the other way around was unacceptable. At this point, he knew he never wanted to lose Cas again. It was too painful, too hard, he needed that damn angel.

He looked over at his driver and understood why she held everyone at arm's length. It was easier that way. Her isolation protected her. Or maybe the other way around, like he felt at times.

"Do you think people would be better off without you?"

"Oh, Lord, no. I've saved countless lives."

Dean snorted, "Your humility is showing."

"What is the point of being humble? What good does it do anyone? Usually people don't actually feel humility, they feign it to have others compliment them. If you are good at something, be proud of that. You were either born with a talent or you worked extraordinarily hard, either one should not be downplayed."

Dean never really thought of it that way. He had felt pride over what he and Sam had accomplished, but it was usually accompanied by pain or guilt.

"Take you for example."

Dean looked at her quizzically, "Me?"

"Yes, you, your brother, and Castiel have had a hand in saving the world multiple times. Actually more times than should have been required. Yet you struggle to not hate yourself on a daily basis. You should be very proud of yourself, you are an excellent hunter and have saved many lives."

Dean looked down at his hands. "I hate myself?"

"Dean Winchester, a person with half my intelligence could deduce that you sometimes loathe the man you have become. You told me yourself you were happier being a demon because you didn't have the weight of emotion."

Dean looked out the window of the Stang. He put his elbow on the door handle and held his chin in his hand.

"I understand that to a degree. Emotions are horrid things that cloud minds and cause poor judgment. Emotions cause humans to choose the few over the majority. Emotions are not a good thing in our line of work. I almost think it would be better to be a sociopath, the ultimate hunting machine. I have been accused of that on occasion, unfortunately, it's not the case."

Dean was shaken from his daze, "You want to be a sociopath?"

"Want? No. However, it would make this job easier. I do not care a great deal about people's day to day emotions, or lives even, but I have been guilty of choosing the lives of a few over the potential lives of many. Ezekiel tried to train me otherwise, but it did not adhere."

That made him like her a little bit more.

"He didn't go all 'Angel' on you?"

"No, he understood God gave all humans free will, even the Chosen ones. He respected my decisions. He never forced me to do something I was uncomfortable with."

"He sounds like a decent guy."

"He was. Very much so. I digressed, back to you."

Dean put his head back in his hand.

"You think you have caused more harm than good. That is not the case. You are a good man who is on the side of the Angels. You have fought against almost every kind and manner of evil, and you have always won. You will always win, or you will die trying."

"Damn right."

"Your determination to help the helpless is admirable. You have forgone the entirety of your life so that others could live theirs. You have sacrificed everything you had, everything you could have had so that others can live without worrying about the monsters that lurk under their bed. You are what the things that 'go bump in the night' have nightmares about. You, Dean Winchester, are a hero. You worked hard for that. You gave up everything for that. Be proud of what you have accomplished, be proud of what you have done, be proud to be the human's champion."

Dean subtly wiped away a tear that rolled down his cheek.

"Do not confuse this with flattery. You have only known me a short while, but you should have learned in that little amount of time that I do not flatter. It's truth. For however long our association may last, know that I will only offer you truth."

He had nothing to say, words wouldn't come to him. He was quick with sarcasm and he tried with comebacks, but for that? Words escaped him. And she was right. Sam, Cas, or his mom might say something like that to cajole him, but she had no reason to do that. He wasn't even sure she liked him. Somehow knowing she wouldn't say anything to him she didn't know or couldn't see comforted him. She was telling the truth. Not his truth, or Sam's truth, or Cas's truth, just the truth, and he needed to hear it.

Victoria looked over at him. She saw so many emotions written across his face she couldn't pinpoint just one. People. She turned the radio up and they drove the rest of the way in silence.


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has read this tale! It is so appreciated!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other songs/tv shows/movies and/or books that may be referenced in this tale._

Chapter 14

The New Normal?

Victoria was curled up on her bed sipping a cup of coffee Mary brought her. She was reading the morning paper, looking for any spectacular events. Everything was horribly mundane. She looked up to see Castiel standing in her doorway.

"May I come in?"

Victoria smiled and motioned to the edge of her bed. Castiel gingerly sat down, he looked uncomfortable.

She put the paper beside her, "There's no chair in here I'm afraid."

"No, this is fine."

"Did you have something in particular?"

"I thought we might try to begin your training today."

Victoria looked pleased, "Yes, I would like that very much." She took another sip of her coffee.

"Could you perhaps go over what you have mastered once more?"

"Smite and heal basically."

"And transfer knowledge, which was impressive."

"I thought you meant when it came to work, or my 'duties'. I can do several things that impact angels. Usually if I am able to think it I can do it."

"Anything?"

"Well, anything I have tried, I just seem to have to want it enough. It's as if my will powers my abilities. When Ezekiel was training me to heal, I wasn't able to heal myself, I didn't seem to care enough. He had to gravely injure himself for me to learn."

Castiel had a selfish thought, he quickly brushed it off and hoped she wasn't listening.

"I am also not impacted by the powers of Angels or Demons."

Castiel tilted his head.

Victoria sat up a little straighter. "Try to throw me across the room."

"I don't feel comfortable attempting that."

"It won't do anything, I promise. I'm immune. Please try."

Castiel relented and did so, just as she said, nothing happened.

Victoria smiled. "See?"

She continued to drink her coffee.

Castiel had not attempted to do that in a long time and wondered if he still had that power at all.

Sam came in the room just then, he had his iPad in his hand.

"Are you training? Should I come back later?"

Both Victoria and Castiel shook their heads. Sam sat next to Victoria near the head of the bed so she could see the iPad as well. She thought she might have to talk to him about personal space.

"So, get this, two more bodies exploded just outside of Nashville."

"Related?"

"Brothers."

"The potential to be a compatible vessel does run in blood lines. Lucifer may have thought if one brother couldn't contain him the other might."

"That's what I was thinking, Cas. Victoria?"

"Of course."

"Do you think it's worth a trip?"

Victoria shook her head. "I really can't see the point. As much as it pains me to say it, I don't think we will be able to do anything until he secures a compatible vessel. Hopefully, not too many more will say 'yes'."

Dean burst into her room wearing a cowboy hat. "Y'all ready to go?"

Sam looked slightly embarrassed, Cas stared at him, and Victoria stifled a snicker.

"You look like the ultimate tourist. No one wears those there."

"Yeah, smarty pants? How would you know?"

"I grew up about three hours out in a small town in Northern Georgia. We used to go there for vacations. Unless you want people to know you're not a local from the get-go, you'll drop the hat. Besides, we decided we don't need to go. There's nothing we can do."

Dean looked disappointed as he left the room.

"That's my brother." Sam got up to leave as well. "I'll let you two return to… whatever."

Victoria put her empty coffee mug on the nightstand before she stood up.

"Let me get dressed and then you can begin to teach me whatever you think I need to know."

Castiel nodded as he continued to sit.

"Castiel, could you maybe leave the room for a moment?"

He looked at her for a moment, confused. As it struck him, he flushed slightly before leaving and closing the door behind him.

* * *

"This bunker is a great deal larger than I would have thought."

They were standing in a large empty room.

"Yes, it does seem smaller from the outside."

"Where do you want to start?"

Castiel looked down at his shoes. "I'm not a guardian Victoria, I don't know what you're supposed to learn next."

Victoria wished Ezekiel would have given her a syllabus.

"What can you do, or what were you able to do that I can't?"

Without thinking about it, without meaning to say it, he said, "Fly."

Victoria felt a familiar warmth in her right palm. Somehow she knew what it was meant for. She inhaled slowly, and focused all her mental faculties on this one task. As her palm became increasingly hot she touched it to his chest.

She could see the light moving throughout his veins. As his eyes looked into hers she saw them flash bright blue, and remain that way as the light guided along his broken wings, repairing them. She stepped away when his eyes went back to their normal darker shade of blue and the light was gone. She could see the shadow of his wings on the wall behind him, they were full and beautiful.

She felt a warm, wet trickle down the space in between her nose and mouth. She touched her hand to it, blood.

"_Just put your hand on its forehead and will it to die, Victoria. Focus."_

_All she could hear was its disgusting thoughts, what it had done while it had walked the earth. She could see the infants it consumed, the innocent blood it had spilled. _

'_Chosen one my ass', it thought, 'She's nothing but a useless virgin. Been unwanted all her life, and now, when glory is within her reach she can't grasp it. If it wasn't for the angel I'd eat her too. I wonder what she tastes like. I'd have a little fun with her first though, let her know what she's been missing.'_

_It looked at her with hunger. Victoria heaved violently. _

"_Victoria, smite the demon." _

"_Yes, Victoria" the demon said mockingly, "Smite me. Or maybe, I'll smite you." It lunged at her, but was stopped by the Enochian trap. _

_Victoria took a deep breath and put her palm on its forehead. Just as the demon was beginning to laugh at its ineffectiveness, her light consumed it, and the demon was gone. _

"_Well done, Victoria." Ezekiel walked over to her. _

_Victoria noticed the blood that was dripping onto the floor was coming from her nose. She quickly put her hand to her face. Ezekiel handed her a handkerchief from his coat pocket. She pressed it against her nose while pinching it shut. _

"_Those nosebleeds along with any other symptoms you may have will subside as you become more accustomed to using your gifts. At each new power and ability we uncover, or if you are using more of your strength than usual, those will occur. Do not fear, they are perfectly standard. In fact, they let you know you're on the right path." _

"How did you…?"

Castiel walked over to her and placed two fingers on her forehead.

"I can't make it go away."

"No, it has to heal on its own. It's not a bad thing. Actually, quite the opposite."

Victoria smiled, then closed her mouth, figuring that a bloody nose would make a smile quite a sight.

Victoria felt dizzy and weak. She sat down against the wall.

"Are you alright?" Cas kneeled in front of her and placed his hand to her forehead. "You need to rest."

Sam and Dean burst into the room, guns drawn. They lowered them once they realized Victoria and Cas were the only ones in the there.

"What the hell happened?" Dean walked over to them, Sam followed.

Victoria nodded and slightly smiled at Castiel. He disappeared, then reappeared behind Dean. Cas tapped his shoulder and Dean turned around suddenly. Cas was smiling wide and Dean quickly hugged him.

"You got your wings back?"

They pulled apart and Cas nodded.

"How?"

Castiel nodded in Victoria's direction. "She repaired them. I'm afraid it has weakened her."

"I will be fine." Victoria started to stand up, she faltered as Sam held her steady.

"Maybe I should help you back to your room?"

At that moment Victoria admired how the tall one could make anything into a question. She definitely needed rest.

"Yes, thank you."

* * *

Sam joined Dean and Cas at a table. Dean handed him a beer as he sat down.

"She okay?"

"She says she will be. Could you not heal her?" Sam looked at Cas.

"No, I'm afraid not. Her body was weakened because she exerted too much strength by fixing my wings."

Dean swallowed a swig of beer, "She'll get better right?"

Cas leaned back in his chair. "I think so, yes."

Dean smiled slightly as he looked at his friend. "So, whatcha gonna do now Cas? Since you're all back?"

Cas looked at him, "I don't understand what you mean."

Dean snorted quietly. He absent mindedly played with his beer bottle. "Now that you have your wings back, what are your plans?" He took another swig.

"I don't have any plans Dean, I intend to stay here as long as you, Sam, and Mary will have me. I do not stay here because I'm grounded, or was. I hope you know that."

"Well, this is your home too, Cas, I hope you know that."

They looked at each other for a moment before each smiled and broke the gaze.

Sam finished his beer rather quickly. He slapped the table and got up.

"I'm going to see if Mom needs help with dinner."

* * *

Victoria couldn't remember the last time she felt so awful. Her head was splitting, she was dizzy, and she couldn't seem to focus. She decided to quit trying and went to sleep.

_She wasn't expecting anyone to be there. She knew her sister wouldn't come, and she hadn't really made any friends while she was there. _

_She started to take her cap off as she saw him leaning against her car in the one of the campus' parking lots. He was holding a rose. She snorted a small smile and walked up to him. _

_He handed her the flower. "I think these are customary for such a human occasion. Congratulations on completing a four year Bachelor's degree program Victoria. I am very proud of you." _

_He was the only one that told her that that day. The only one who bothered to show up, the only one who cared, an angel, her angel. _

_She didn't like emotions, she abhorred them, but Ezekiel standing there with that rose saying he was proud caused her to feel. She blinked, surprised at the salty water welling in her eyes. For the first time out of three in their six year relationship, she hugged him. _

_At first he didn't know what to do. He was confused by this human reaction from her. She whispered, "Just go with it" into his ear. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the embrace. _

She woke up to Sam tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

He sat down on the edge of her bed. She really needed to have a talk with him about personal space.

She sat up against the headboard. "Better, actually."

"Good. Dinner's ready if you feel like eating. I made the potatoes."

She could tell he was very proud of himself for that.

"I'm sure they're great. Allow me to clean up a bit and I'll be there momentarily."

Sam gave a slight smile, nodded, and left her room.

Victoria looked at herself in the mirror. Even with the last of the blood washed from her face she still looked awful. Her eyes were sunken in, with dark circles apparent underneath. Her cheeks seemed more pronounced somehow, and her color was pallid. She sighed as she made her way to the main room.

* * *

The four of them were waiting on her. She felt incredibly awkward as she took the seat left vacant for her. She could feel their eyes, and concern.

"Victoria sweetie, are you sure you feel alright?"

Victoria looked at Mary. "I will be, it takes some time. I have been through this before." She left out the part where it had never been to this degree.

Castiel looked the most concerned of all, "Victoria, I cannot apologize enough for…"

Victoria interrupted him, "Please do not apologize. I am simply happy that it was effective. Besides, the illness means that I have exceeded my usual power, when I get better I will be even stronger than before."

"Do you know how that strength will manifest?" Cas inquired.

"If the past is any indication, I think that's up to you."

Castiel narrowed his eyes.

"Choose what you want my added strength to become, and show me."

Victoria took the plate Sam offered to her. "Thank you."

Castiel looked down at the table and then at his friends. He was a soldier, and a rebel. He knew he was not supposed to be a Guardian. Guardians were very special Angels, there was not a chance they'd go rogue, not a possibility they would disobey or turn on one of their own without perfect cause, they were meant to instruct, to teach, to train. Cas wanted to help her very much. That's why he kept offering. However, every time he looked at her, every time he felt her strength, he was afraid he would break her. Turn her into something like him. He would shake it off, try again, then the feeling of uncertainty would resurface and he felt like he couldn't help her.

"If I could make a suggestion?"

Cas and Victoria looked to Sam.

"Wouldn't this be a good opportunity to try mass smiting? It could be very helpful on hunts."

Cas nodded at looked at Dean. "Dean?"

Dean swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great. Kill all those sons of bitches with one bright ass light." Dean immediately looked at his mom. "Sorry."

Victoria wasn't quite sure what to make of two humans weighing in on her training. She could discern Castiel needed them, needed their input and reassurance. Ezekiel was so sure of himself, so confident, Castiel was a whole new type of Angel. One she didn't know existed.

* * *

Mary decided that Victoria had a hard-enough day so she wouldn't let her help with the dishes. She also made her a cup of tea and sent her to bed.

As much as she thought she would, Victoria didn't mind being mothered. It was nice. She would never admit to it, but it was a comforting feeling.

Just as she was about to fall asleep she heard a light knock on her door. "Come in."

Cas, Dean, and Sam were all standing in the doorway. She noticed how small Castiel looked and giggled ever so slightly.

"Do you need anything?"

Victoria wondered why the tall one couldn't have just come alone. She tried to sound like she appreciated the gesture. Which she slightly did. She didn't know what was becoming of her.

"No, thank you."

"Will you be able to sleep okay?"

Victoria marveled at the earnestness of the Angel.

"I believe so, yes."

Dean patted Sam and Cas on their backs. "Let's go. Goodnight Tor."

"Goodnight."

After they closed the door behind them Victoria thought about what appeared to be her new life. For the first time, in a very long time, she thought that some semblance of a family might not be so bad.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this adventure!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sherlock Holmes, or any other books/movies/tv shows and/or songs to which this tale might refer._

Chapter 15

Free Will

Victoria awoke from the type of sleep that very rarely comes. She didn't remember sleeping, she didn't dream, she just slept as if she were comatose.

It took her a few minutes to focus. When she looked at her phone she realized she had been asleep for eighteen straight hours. She felt very hungry.

On her nightstand was a pastry, cream, and a steaming cup of coffee. She thought that was strange, but was appreciative nonetheless.

She noticed that she felt really, really good. Not just normal good, but great. She thought her new strength was agreeing with her.

She started going through her text messages as she ate the pastry with the cream. It was delicious, notably so. The coffee was really extraordinary as well. She made a mental note to compliment Mary Winchester.

One of her text messages was from the day before about what sounded like a werewolf attack roughly six hours away. She quickly finished her coffee and pastry, showered, dressed, and packed.

She got to the main room to find Cas, Dean, and Sam sitting at a table. They were staring at her as was their usual custom.

"Hello gentlemen. Werewolf attack. Are y'all going to accompany me?"

Dean looked proud of himself as he leaned back in his chair. "Already taken care of."

Victoria was confused. "I'm sorry?"

Dean was about to explain when Cas stopped him.

"Give her a moment Dean, she is just now awake from a very long period of sleep."

Victoria sat her bag down and went over to them. She took the chair next to Sam.

"How are you feeling Victoria?"

"In all honesty I am feeling very well."

"Can I tell her now that we know she's feeling very well?" Dean asked sarcastically.

Cas nodded.

"Sammy read about the werewolf attack on the internet yesterday, so we took out the pack."

"It was a pack?"

"Four of the bastards."

"Impressive. I'll tell the local authorities the problem was handled and that I'll send them a bill."

She took out her phone to do just that.

When she looked up at Sam she could tell he was concealing something. "What is it?"

"We didn't exactly 'take them out'. They're in the dungeon, waiting on you and Cas."

"You have a dungeon?" She knew the place was a bit unsettling.

"We captured them so you could practice the bright light thing."

Victoria looked at Dean. "How very considerate. They've been down there how long?"

"Six hours. Do you think you could get started soon? They're kinda loud. Mom's been wondering."

"You didn't want to tell your mother you have four werewolves trapped in your dungeon? Why ever not?"

Sam smirked as he looked at Dean. "Speaking of, they probably need a sitter."

Dean nodded in agreement as he got up to go watch them.

Before she got up to follow, Victoria looked at Castiel. "Have you used your wings yet?"

He smiled and looked down. "A little."

"Where did you go?"

"Your breakfast was from Paris, and your coffee was from Costa Rica. Plus, I transported myself, Sam, and Dean to get the werewolves. I also had to bring them back one by one. That was unpleasant."

"How did you know when I would wake up? The coffee was still hot."

Castiel looked down at the floor then back at her. "I'm an Angel of the Lord, I knew when you would wake up."

Sam laughed slightly and looked at him. "He got you a fresh cup every thirty minutes."

"From Costa Rica?"

Sam nodded. "He would just keep leaving then reappearing."

Cas looked slightly embarrassed.

Victoria was flattered. "Castiel, I can honestly say that no one else has ever put forth so much effort into my breakfast."

"It is the most important meal of the day."

* * *

These particular types of werewolves knew what they were and were able to change at will. Victoria knew this was a very special pack. They faced one another, as if each monster had their own hunter. Victoria listened to their thoughts.

They weren't the rabid, hungry thoughts she had heard from other wolves. Their thoughts were what she would imagine human thoughts to be like. They cared deeply for each other. Each monster was worried about the other three more than themselves.

She tried to ascertain which one was the leader, she settled on the shortest of the group. He had blonde hair and very light brown eyes. He made eye contact with Victoria. She looked into him, to see the horrors the pack had committed. She saw what she expected to see, the pack chasing down humans and devouring them. Then she saw something more. The humans they tracked and killed were guilty of some heinous crimes. One was a murderer, one was a rapist, one cheated poor people out of their money by selling bad health insurance. Victoria walked across the room and sat on top of the desk, facing the monsters.

She addressed the light brown-eyed one. "Are they all guilty?"

Cas, Dean, and Sam looked very much confused. However, they followed her lead and stood beside her.

His voice was deep and strong, it didn't match his appearance in the slightest. "Yes, we don't kill unless we are certain."

"The whole pack? As long as the four of you have been a pack?"

He looked down at his shoes. They were handcuffed and chained to the floor so that they were standing. "As long as we've been a pack, yes. A couple of us gave into our desires beforehand."

"How long have you done things this way?"

"Twenty Five years."

"No deviations?"

"None."

"Gentleman," Victoria began, "I'm afraid we have a moral dilemma. You see, our pack here only prey on the wicked. They have been ridding the world of the most depraved of human beings for the last quarter of a century. They do extensive research and eliminate the humans who have fallen through the cracks of our judicial system. They are technically still monsters, yes, but they are monsters not by choice, unlike their victims."

Dean looked at the one Victoria questioned. "What did the guy do two days ago?"

"He abused his daughter." The werewolf looked at the ground again, "In every possible way imaginable. She is five." He looked back up at Dean, "Bastard got away with it because he has 'high standing' in the town."

Dean looked at Victoria. "Not saying that I wouldn't have wanted to smash the son of a bitch's head in myself, but they are still monsters. We usually kill the monsters."

Sam spoke up, "And these monsters just happen to kill evil people. Dean, we've got to let them go."

Victoria looked at Cas before she addressed the pack leader. "I think you have an inkling as to what I am, and what he is." She nodded towards Cas. "And these two" She pointed to Sam and Dean "Are arguably the world's best hunters."

Dean smiled with pride, Sam glared at him.

"I will be listening in on your thoughts from time to time to ensure you are staying on this path. If you stray, if any of you stray, even in the slightest, we will find you. Do you understand?"

"I do, we do."

"Castiel?"

With a wave of his hand Castiel undid their binding. "I suppose now I have to take them back?"

"You can do it two by two this time." Victoria suggested.

The leader was rubbing his wrist where the cuffs had been. "We've got a lead on a serial killer up in Montana, could you take us there?"

Castiel sighed with his entire body. "What town?"

"Big Sky."

Castiel put his hands on his shoulder and the female werewolf next to him. In seconds he returned for the other two.

When he was back and the room was empty Victoria hopped down from the table.

"You were sure he was telling the truth?"

She looked at Dean. "Yes."

"What are we to do now? You need to learn to mass smite, and quickly, I would imagine, before we lose your extra strength."

Victoria looked at Castiel. He looked exhausted. She knew angels didn't get tired. She walked over to stand no more than a foot away from him.

"What's wrong?"

Cas looked away from her. "I don't know what you mean."

Victoria waited until his eyes met hers. "Tell me."

He knew she could very easily find out, and out of respect for her not doing so he began, "You were created by my Father with great purpose Victoria. You are, extraordinary, in every sense of the term. I have failed innumerable times as an Angel, and even as a human. I am very concerned that I am going to fail you. I am worried that I am going to break you, like I have broken everything else I touch."

"Cas..." Dean began to argue, but Castiel interrupted him.

"My intentions have always been what I thought qualified as good, but every time I try something horrible happens. I want to help you Victoria, I truly do, but I am frightened that I will be unable to do so, or worse, turn you into what I became."

Dean started to walk towards Cas to comfort him, but Sam grabbed his arm to stop him. Dean didn't resist, he just looked at Sam questioningly. Sam didn't return his gaze, he was focused on Victoria.

"Castiel, even though you put your memories into my brain, I haven't looked at them wholly. I don't know what you have done, or what you haven't done for that matter. All I know is that somehow I was able to find the last Angel on earth, and his two human companions. I know that through my abilities I was able to give that Angel back his wings. I know that this one Angel can help me, train me, work with me to become what I was born to be. You are amazing in that you think for yourself, you make your own decisions, you follow your own orders. You are your own Angel. You became what thousands of your kind never could be, free. There's a reason you are here on earth, I believe it is to save it. As you already have, multiple times with these two. And if you will help me to help you, me. We have a mission Castiel, and because you gave yourself the ability to do so, you can choose to accept it."

Dean walked towards them. "Yeah, and she doesn't flatter Cas, only truth."

Victoria smiled at Dean slightly, "Yes. Flattery is sugar coated lies. I don't care for it."

"We still need to find a group of demons, a pack a werewolves, a nest of vampires, or something for Victoria to smite."

Dean looked back at his brother. "Way to ruin the moment, Sam."

"You guys have enough moments."

* * *

Sam closed his laptop with disgust. "Nothing. No signs of anything supernatural anywhere."

Mary walked over to him to rub his shoulders. "I'm sorry baby, maybe there will be a new Big Bad for you boys to take down soon. And lady. Where is Victoria?"

Dean looked up from the paper he was reading. "She and Cas are downstairs. He's trying to teach her how to set things on fire."

"In the house? That sounds safe."

"He can put it out instantly. It should be safe." Dean started reading his paper again.

Mary looked at her youngest son. "Sammy, what's wrong?"

Sam looked at Dean quickly before looking back at his mom. "Um, nothing, I'm fine."

"Dean, could you go make sure they're not setting fire to anything too important?"

Dean put his paper on the table. "Sure, mom."

Once Dean was gone Mary looked at Sam once more. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

Sam leaned forward in his chair. "Honestly, this sounds so childish, I uh, I think I'm jealous of Dean and Cas' relationship."

"Their what?"

"I mean they were always pretty close, they'd do anything for each other, but since Cas has lived here, they're become even closer. I guess I never noticed it as much when we would just see him occasionally. I feel, left out I guess?"

Mary Winchester wasn't sure what to think. She knew both of her boys were close to the Angel, and for good reason it seemed like. She noticed Cas and Dean were closer than Cas and Sam, but she never saw Sam's jealously.

"So, you're envious of their friendship?"

"Yeah. Stupid I know."

"No, Sammy, not at all. I completely understand. You feel like Cas has taken your spot in some ways. That's completely normal. Maybe you could ask Dean to spend some alone time with you? Or Cas to spend some time with just you, if that's what you want."

His mom was talking to him as if her were five. He felt that he was acting like that in some regard. He had never seen Dean with anyone the way he was with Cas, except for how he was with him. He knew he should let that jealously go and just be happy for him. He knew it was hard for Dean to emotionally accept anyone else. That was one reason he was so adamant for Victoria to stay with and work with them, they needed to learn to trust more people.

"You're right. I'll do that. Thanks mom."

Sam kissed her on the forehead before going to see what the others were up to.

* * *

"How's it going in here?" Dean asked as he walked into the room Cas and Victoria were in.

"Great!" Victoria said, as enthusiastically as Dean had ever heard her be.

"She has learned, rather quickly I might add, to set things ablaze." Cas sounded proud.

"Unfortunately, I cannot extinguish them."

"I'm afraid you do not want it enough."

"I think that's says something of my mental health. I should look into that."

Dean snorted a smile. "Good job Tor. Any nosebleeds?"

"Very slight. Apparently arson is not too strenuous."

Victoria was amazed at how quickly she was adjusting to this new life. She actually found herself enjoying it, which surprised her because she hadn't really enjoyed anything in a long time.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pants pocket. She pulled it out, looked at the Caller ID and excused herself from the room.

Dean patted Cas on the back. "Good job Cas, you trained a Chosen One."

"I taught her how to set fire to anything. I do not know if I should be commended for that."

"Think of all the gas she won't have to siphon out of cars now."

Cas tilted his head.

"Never mind. So, are all your old powers back?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't tested them all yet, but some are, yes."

"That's great."

"Is it Dean?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have the best record with power. We both know what I've done. Now with Victoria, she is almost limitless power Dean, I can feel it, what if I turn bad again, what if I turn her bad?"

Dean grabbed him by his shoulders. "Cas, listen, that isn't going to happen. You know why?"

Cas shook his head. "Because even though you don't think so, you are good. And you have me, and Sammy, and now Tor to steer you clear of whatever you think might be a bad decision. I haven't known her for long, but Tori's moral compass seems to have a good north."

"Yes, she is a good person."

"And you are too. You're our brother, man, don't doubt yourself."

"Thank you, Dean."

"Anytime."

* * *

"Hello?" Victoria answered her phone with a distinctly Southern accent.

"No, Mrs. Turner, I won't be home for a while."

"No, I'm not with a bad crowd." Victoria rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall.

"No, ma'am, I don't need anything from the apartment, thank you though."

"Yes, I will call you if I need anything mailed."

"Yes ma'am, I will be sure to do that."

"Thank you Mrs. Turner, have a good night."

Victoria replaced her phone in her pocket before she looked up to see Sam Winchester grinning at her.

She quickly regained her composure and lost her Southern drawl.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to hear a distinct accent."

"I told you that I was from Georgia."

"I liked hearing it. Why don't you speak that way normally? It's endearing."

"I don't want to be endearing."

"You can't help it." His smile was infuriating her. She could feel herself color.

"Stop."

"Stop what?"

"Whatever it is you're doing, I don't like it."

"I'm sorry?"

"Sam, it's not going to work, whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. I don't break easily."

"I told you I would win you over. I gave you fair warning."

"That is true, however, I wish you would stop. I agreed to stay here, which for me is quite an accomplishment."

"See, I'm already making headway."

Dean and Cas walked out of the room to find Victoria and Sam in the hallway. Dean could tell from Sam's smile he was up to something.

"What's going on Sammy?"

"Victoria has a Southern accent."

"I was talking to my landlady. She's from back home, I'm not conscious I speak any differently to her."

"It was cute."

Dean backed up just in case Victoria decided to punch Sam, he backed Cas up too.

"There is nothing about me that is cute."

"The accent is."

Victoria looked at Dean.

"Make him stop."

"He's an overgrown man, complete with facial hair, I can't make him stop."

Victoria tried to regain her composure. Surely he wasn't flirting? No, this was something different. He wanted intimacy, craved it, but not the sexual kind. She looked over at Dean and Castiel. Dean's hand was still on Castiel's shoulder. She looked back at Sam, he wanted that. He may not have known it himself even, but he wanted what his brother had found in Castiel.

Victoria felt more emotions in that moment than she had in years. She was disappointed in herself for letting this family affect her so. She knew she was better alone, she thought better alone, fought better alone, was a Chosen One better alone. She knew from those emotions, the sympathy, empathy, understanding, and compassion she felt for the younger Winchester she would choose any one of them over the majority, and that was a problem. She knew better than that, the majority would always be more important, right? Just because she has some feeling of sentiment towards these brothers and their wayward Angel, that didn't make them more important than the seven billion others, right? She was uncertain, she didn't like that feeling.

But she wasn't happy alone. Content, but far from happy. She was happy in her moments with Ezekiel, when he was proud of her, when he was teaching her. When she found a kinship with him.

"_You may encounter many situations like this Victoria, where you have to choose between the few and the many. I have told you which way I would lean. However, you have to make your own choice in every situation, as is my Father's Will. I will never influence you one way or the other." _

Victoria smiled back at the friendly giant. "You're exasperating Sam Winchester."

With those four words Victoria Doyle decided she was going to try happiness.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying this tale so far!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other songs/movies/tv shows and/or books that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 16

Try a Little Happiness

It had been two months since Victoria Doyle had made up her mind to try and be happy. She had almost always been content, and she would have gladly spent the rest of her life that way. But happiness was something else entirely. Happiness was being passionate about something or someone. Happiness was investing in something other than yourself. They had been put on her doorstep so to speak, so she was going to invest in them.

Monsters came and went. The four took care of them without much fanfare. Victoria practiced and trained with Cas on a daily basis. She was becoming stronger each time. Her strength suited her. She felt very well.

Their dinners were never without interest, especially because Castiel didn't eat. He was there for the comradery of dinner alone. To him, and to the Winchesters even, dinner was a foreign concept. It was nice, homey, to have sit down dinners every night. Victoria quickly found herself enjoying it. Mary would usually cook the main part and Victoria would be responsible for whatever bread and dessert they would have, the boys would do the dishes. Castiel wasn't allowed in the kitchen during dishes because Mary and Victoria thought the boys would cheat by convincing him to do them angelically.

Whenever Victoria felt her dessert was exceptional she would give Castiel human taste buds so he could enjoy it with the rest of them. She was worried about doing it too often because she didn't understand the Angel digestive system. Cas assured her it was okay because he once ate hundreds of burgers with no 'unpleasant' consequences.

"What did you learn today Victoria?" Mary asked as she put an extra-large serving of mashed potatoes onto Dean's plate.

"I finally learned how to extinguish the fires I can set."

"That's good."

"I also learned that even the most seemingly demure of Angels can have one hell of a right hook."

Sam looked at Cas accusingly. "You hit her?"

Cas looked at the table. "She insisted, we were training. I healed her immediately after."

Victoria ate a bit of broccoli and smirked. "Normally, when I fight hand to hand I listen to the thoughts of whatever I'm fighting. It helps me anticipate their actions so I won't become captured or incapacitated. With Castiel, I stopped listening almost immediately, so I was surprised. It was very good training though, I may not always be able to listen so I need to learn to anticipate my opponents' moves without using my ability to read supernatural's minds."

"I do not ever wish to repeat that."

Victoria looked at Castiel, "You won't fight with me anymore?"

"I will not hurt you anymore, that was unpleasant. I do not want to replicate the feelings that produced."

Dean swallowed his mouthful of chicken. "Cas, you weren't out of control. You were you, training Tor. If you want, I'll sit in tomorrow, but I think she's got to get better at fighting. You can't smite everything."

"That is not true. I can smite everything."

"You can, but she can't. And one day she might have to fight, and you're the only one strong enough to train her. Sammy and I would snap like a twig. Right Tor?"

"I am somewhat stronger than the average human."

"I saw you lift the refrigerator the other day because mom dropped something behind it. Not scooted, lifted."

Victoria looked at Sam. "I'll rephrase, I am significantly stronger than the average human. However, I'm not as strong as the average angel. Dean's right Castiel, I do need to be trained in that area."

Cas conceded. "If you'll sit in, Dean, I will continue to train Victoria to fight."

"If you accidentally hit me again, I won't bring it up."

"That's worse somehow."

Victoria put down her fork and pulled Castiel's chair close to hers. The gesture surprised everyone at the table.

"Castiel, I need you. I'm going to get hurt from time to time, but that only makes me stronger. Literally. You have to let me get hurt, and you have to let me heal. You can't always heal me, sometimes I have to bleed. It's okay, it's who I am meant to be. I accepted that the moment Ezekiel saved me from that demon nine years ago. I promise not to make light of it since it upsets you, but you have to hit me so I can learn to block. You are it for me Angel, what I can become depends largely on you. Never underestimate yourself, ever."

She put her hand on his face so that he would look at her eyes. "And never think you're not worthy or good enough ever again. You are." She put her hand back in her lap.

"I honestly don't know what it is with you three, not a single one of you thinks you're good enough. You're willing to throw your lives away as if they do not matter at all. They do. I can't even begin to tell you how much."

Victoria pushed Cas's chair back to where it was and resumed eating. Her emotions were coming out more and more lately. She was worried they would get the better of her soon, the thought terrified her. She had never been one to feel to any extent. She cared, she empathized, but never had she cared this much about a particular group of people. In a little amount of time they had entered her heart as Ezekiel had.

Dean struggled with guilt for so long, he never thought of himself as the hero. Victoria helped him with that after her little speech in the car. He still didn't think he was a hero, but he no longer hated himself. He knew he saved people, people were alive because of him, and that was enough.

"Tell them what they are, Tor. Both of them."

"Can I finish my chicken?"

"No."

Victoria sighed as she put down her fork once more. She looked at Sam.

"Sam, you are selfless, almost to a fault. You put everyone else's lives above your own. Not exactly the most intelligent decision, but admirable nonetheless. You would die a thousand times over if someone else could live. You've made mistakes, but you've more than made up for them. People today are alive in this world because you killed the monsters that would have hunted them. People have families, dinners like this, kids, because of you. You are fueled by an undying love for your family, at first it was Dean, now Castiel and Mary are part of that too. You would do anything for any one of them, because you're loyal, strong, and unyielding. When I first met you I thought you were astute, and from me, that's quite a compliment. Most people are idiots. You're smart and relentless. You're strong, Sam Winchester, and that strength has saved countless lives."

Sam looked down at his plate. "Thanks Victoria."

"Don't thank me, Sam. I don't flatter. It's just truth."

Sam snorted a smile.

She turned to Castiel. "I have told you, almost since the moment I met you about how wonderful you are. I may be more inclined to feel that way towards you because of your species, but my feelings are of no consequence. Without your thoughts coming into play, I can read you almost as well as I can any human. I think that's because you are almost human. You don't think like other angels. You think as I would imagine a human would. You have insecurities and doubts. You always want to know if you're doing the right thing. That's what I wonder, Castiel. That's what we, as humans, wonder. If we're doing the right thing. Ezekiel was so confident in his decisions, but when there was a choice before us, he let me choose. He said it was because it was his duty, but I think it was also because he somehow knew that was the right thing to do. Do not worry so much about doing the right thing as long as you do worry. When you stop worrying, and you're sure you're doing the right thing, that's when you need to reevaluate. You're the most powerful of species with a human's heart, you're almost perfect."

Victoria turned her attention to Dean. "Can I finish my chicken now?"

"Yeah, Tor, you've earned it."

They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. Not in awkward silence, or in a worrisome silence, where something yearns to fill the void. It was a comfortable silence, because for the first time in a long time, everyone at that table was content with who they were. Not just because of Victoria's words, although they helped, but because they had been forming a family. A weird family, but what family isn't at least a little bit weird?

* * *

Victoria had agreed to let Sam try to engage her in television. They were in his room watching "Midsomer Murders" on Netflix when she got a text message. She debated on telling Sam who the murderer was before she read it. She decided against it.

"Holy crap."

Sam paused the show. "What is it, Tor?" Sam had started calling her by Dean's nickname.

"My sister is missing. I have to go." She started to get off the bed, then looked back at Sam, "Will you go with me?"

"Yeah."

Sam turned the TV off as he got up and started to get his bag. Victoria was already in her room, packing furiously.

She rushed out to the living quarters and waited for Sam, he was already there.

Dean and Cas walked over to her.

"I'm sorry, Tor." Dean thought about giving her a hug, thought better of it and just stood there.

"Victoria, if you need my assistance in any way…"

"Of course, Castiel, I will call you."

"You can pray to me, that will work too now."

Victoria smiled a little, "Of course. If I do, bring him, because it will be something Sam and I can't handle on our own."

Sam picked up her bag. "Your car?"

Victoria nodded as Sam headed up the stairs.

"You'll come back, right Tor?"

She looked at Dean. "Honestly, there's no place I'd rather be."

* * *

The ride was a long one and Victoria was glad Sam didn't try to make conversation. Victoria hated to admit it, but the tall one was winning her over. Victoria could feel her eyes getting heavy.

"Can you drive, Sam?"

"Your car? This car?"

"No, the other car we brought. Of course this car."

"You're not you when you're tired."

"Are you quoting a candy bar commercial to me?"

"Yes?"

Victoria snorted. "Can you drive a manual?"

"Of course."

Victoria pulled over and switched with Sam. She reclined her seat as Sam struggled to adjust his. Once he got it and buckled his seat belt he roughly took off.

Victoria stared at him as the car bucked each time he shifted. He looked over at her sheepishly.

"It may have been a while since I drove a stick."

"How long?" Her accent returned.

"College?"

"College? How long ago was that?"

"12 years?"

"Sam Winchester, if you hurt my baby, I may never forgive you." Her accent was strong, and it took everything in him not to chuckle.

"You would forgive me, but I won't. Go to sleep, you look tired."

As soon as Sam knew she was asleep he pulled out his phone.

* * *

Dean looked at his clock before he answered, "Sammy, you okay?" He rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Dean, guess what I'm doing."

"Do I want to know?" Dean was concerned by the excited, whispered tone in his brother's voice.

"I'm driving the 'Stang."

"No crap? She's letting you drive it?"

"She was tired so, yeah."

"I guess you're the favorite."

Sam thought it was about time he was someone's favorite.

* * *

Victoria's apartment was two stories. The kitchen and living room were on the first floor, and the bedrooms were on the second. Sam stood in the small entryway, unsure of what to do with his bag.

Victoria was already heading up the stairs. She could tell Sam was not following her.

"You can stay with me."

"In your room?"

"Yes."

Sam followed her. He walked by the second bedroom and looked in. It was filled with books and file folders. Papers were strewn out all over the floor, and books were open, filling the large desk.

Her room was an entirely different story. It was very clean, spotless even.

Victoria turned around to look at Sam. "The right side is mine. If you need to shower the guest bath is attached to my office. Towels are hanging up in there."

Sam put his bag down on the left side of the bed.

"If it would make you more comfortable Tor, I can sleep on the couch."

"My couch is small. You're not. The bed is a King. It's fine. Besides, we've both fallen asleep watching TV on your bed, is there a difference?"

She went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Sam figured she was right, there wasn't a difference. He went to the guest bath to shower.

When he got back she was already asleep. He smiled slightly as he stealthily lifted the comforter to lay down.

* * *

Sam's eyes quickly opened as he heard a noise downstairs. He looked over and saw that Victoria was sound asleep. He grabbed his gun and quietly went to investigate.

He walked down the stairs and was taken aback to see a slightly over middle-aged woman putting stuff into the fridge. He just stood there, unsure of what to do.

She turned around and looked at him. "Hello there. You just gonna stand there, or are you gonna help me put these groceries away?"

Sam just then noticed it was full daylight. He walked towards the lady. He noticed the gun was still in his hand. He didn't know what to do it with it.

"Just put it on the counter, hon. I ain't scared of it."

Sam snorted a chuckle as he laid his 45 on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room.

"Victoria still asleep?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good, I'm worried that child doesn't get enough rest. Hand me those two bags off the floor."

Sam did so.

"Now put this in that little cabinet above the fridge. I can't reach."

Sam took the cereal box and placed it above the fridge.

The lady handed Sam two cups of coffee.

"One's for you and one's for Victoria. Go take it to her, and tell her breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes. Both of you better be back down here then. No funny business."

"No ma'am."

Sam smiled as he took the cups of coffee upstairs.

He placed one on Victoria's nightstand then took his to his place on the left side.

"Tor." He whispered.

No response.

"Tor." He said, a little louder.

She turned over to look at him.

"Its morning, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. I'm supposed to tell you breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes."

Victoria smiled. "Mrs. Turner's here?"

"Either that or another pushy, nice lady."

Victoria sat up and took a couple drinks of her coffee. She looked over at Sam.

"Thank you for the coffee."

"I was given instructions."

"Are you aware you're in your shorts?"

Sam looked down. "I am now."

Victoria laughed. "Mrs. Turner's husband has been dead for around five years now, I'm sure she appreciated the view."

"I heard a noise downstairs and just went. I thought it was still night."

"I have room darkening blinds. My hours aren't always nine to five, as you know."

Sam nodded. "I uh, better get dressed."

Victoria stood up. "Me too."

* * *

The three of them were sitting around Victoria's table eating Mrs. Turner's breakfast of biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Sam thought Dean would be jealous, so he was trying to take a picture without being noticed.

"Is this where you've been, Victoria?" Mrs. Turner pointed her thumb at Sam, "Not that I could blame ya."

Sam tried his best not to look embarrassed as he continued to eat.

"Sam and his brother are assisting me in a case. I've been staying with them while we are working on it." She looked at Sam. "And I like their company."

"This one has a brother? How big is he?"

"Shorter."

Mrs. Turner looked disappointed. "So, he's not your new special friend?"

Victoria knew what Mrs. Turner meant, she had referred to Ezekiel as her 'special friend'. The idea of 'friend' in general had been a foreign concept to her for such a long time.

"No, he's my friend."

Sam smiled at her, and she returned it.

"What a waste, if you ask me. Look at him." Mrs. Turner shook her head from side to side.

Victoria did look. "He's a good person Mrs. Turner, I'm very fortunate to have him in my life in any capacity."

"So you don't have a new special friend?" Mrs. Turner sensed a change in Victoria after her last special friend left around three years ago. She became even more distant. Not rude, not ever rude, just sadder, somehow.

Victoria slightly smiled, "I do, actually. He lives with Sam and his brother."

Sam looked at her. "Cas?"

Victoria nodded.

"That's a strange name for a man."

"It's Castiel, actually."

"Sounds angelic."

"It is."

Sam looked at her questioningly.

"It's the Angel of Thursday. He was born on a Thursday."

"He's a Catholic?"

"Yes."

"Well, not everyone's perfect."

Sam stifled a laugh.

Mrs. Turner got up to put the extra food away. "Will he be coming and going at all hours of the night like the other one?"

"I don't know, I plan to go back as soon as Elizabeth is home."

"Well, I'd like to meet him. Is he odd? The other one was odd."

"Yes, he's odd. But I am too, so it works."

Mrs. Turner walked over to them to get their plates. "Whatever makes you happy baby, but I would've taken this one. You two better skedaddle over to your sister's place. Will you be back before supper time?"

"We'll try, I'll call you if not."

* * *

Sam looked over at Victoria. "I have to ask."

"Hum?"

"Mrs. Turner seems like the kind of person you would not get along with."

"Really?"

"Yes, she's nosy, and pushy, but very sweet, I really liked her, but she doesn't seem to go with your personality."

"I moved into that apartment when I was twenty two. Fresh out of college, she does not have any children of her own and she just sort of took to me. What's funny is I never really even appreciated her until I lived with ya'll, she took on a mother role with me. I didn't know what that was like until your mother, and now I see the similarities."

"She called Ezekiel your special friend?"

"I didn't know how to correct her. It's not easy to explain who I am Sam. It's not like I can say 'I'm gay', I'm not, I'm not anything, I'm just me."

"You're asexual."

Victoria paused and Sam hoped he hadn't offended her.

"Yes, I suppose that's the closest label, but that often comes with questions and explanations. It was just easier to let her think we were in a relationship. Much easier than explaining I was a Chosen One and he was my Angel. Can you imagine? She would have spent the next however many years trying to convert him into a Baptist."

Sam laughed.

Victoria looked over at Sam. "You, Dean, Mary, and Castiel have been the only people who have ever truly taken the time and effort to understand me. I cannot tell you how much that means."

"You're special Tor. Not just because you're a Chosen One or whatever, but because you're you. You're worth getting to know. And that's not flattery."

Sam smiled at her as they pulled into the driveway of a very large, traditional, Southern Home.

Victoria turned off the engine and sighed. "Well, this is it."


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 17

Lizzy, Vicky, David, and Sam

Victoria and Sam stood at the door of the large white house waiting for someone to answer.

Victoria kept running her hands around the buttons on her coat, a habit she developed when she was anxious.

Pastor David Williams opened the door. He looked tired and hopeless. Victoria felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

"Vicky," Victoria cringed at the nickname. "Thank goodness you're here, the police have been no help whatsoever." He looked at Sam, "I didn't know you were bringing a friend."

"This is Sam. He's a colleague, and friend, yes."

"Thank you for waiting till ten to come. I was finally able to get rid of all the church folk."

Sam closed the door behind him.

"Where are the kids?" Victoria asked as David led them into the formal living room. There was a sofa and two chairs across from each other.

"Upstairs." David muttered.

Sam and Victoria sat next to each other as David sat across.

"Sam, do you mind interviewing David?"

Sam nodded and looked at Victoria's brother-in-law.

"First of all, I'm very sorry about your wife's disappearance, we will do everything we can to find her." Sam sounded sincere.

Victoria smiled inwardly as David nodded solemnly.

"You say Elizabeth disappeared from your bedroom, can you describe how that happened exactly?"

"We were sleeping, I heard Elizabeth moving around. I looked at her and at first she looked like she was surprised I woke up. She was doing stretches as she was putting on clothes. Not just any clothes either. Her best dress. Well, it was actually a dress she never wore because she thought it was too revealing. I asked her what she was doing. She just looked at me, she didn't respond. I turned over to turn the light on, but when I looked back, she was gone. It was like she disappeared."

"Did you notice anything after she left, any smells, sounds?"

"No, but right before I woke up I think there might have been a light. I thought Lizzy just turned the light on, but when I opened my eyes it was dark."

Sam and Victoria looked at each other.

David looked down at his hands.

"It's been the hardest on Abel, he hasn't talked since his mother went missing."

"How old is Abel?"

"He'll be eighteen in two weeks."

"We need to talk to him."

"Vicky, didn't you hear me? He hasn't talked to anyone, not even me."

"We need to try. Bring him down here and then leave the room."

"This is my house, where you are a guest, I'll bring Abel down here but I'm not leaving my boy."

Victoria looked her brother-in-law straight in the eye. "I am here solely for your benefit. If you would like to know what happened to your wife, I suggest you bring your eldest son down here immediately and leave him with Sam and me. Otherwise, I see no point in our staying."

"You don't care about Lizzy? She's your sister for crying out loud!"

Victoria closed her eyes and took two deep breaths. Three may have been more beneficial.

"David, my sister and I have never been what you would call 'close'. Every time our paths would cross she would insist upon telling me that I was not following God's plan for my life. She had expressed innumerable times that my soul was doomed. I was thirteen when she told me that for the first time, a child. She has never offered me anything but judgment. I have more feelings of sentiment for you then her. And I don't really care for you. You asked me to come, so I came. Out of respect for a familial bond that really isn't all that strong. Go get your son."

David rose to do so.

Sam looked at Victoria once Elizabeth was out of the room. "Tor, I…"

"It's okay Sam, I wanted to help him, I still do, but it's difficult to help someone who you know has no respect for you."

"I respect the hell out of you, if that helps."

She smiled at him, "It does. And I you. Your interrogation skills are revolutionary."

Sam laughed as David brought Abel into the room. She closed the door after he crossed the threshold.

"Hey Abel, have a seat." Sam waved his hand toward where David was sitting.

The young man looked terrified. His skin was pale and he was sweating. He kept wringing his hands together. His foot bounced up and down.

"Abel, I don't know if you remember me from Christmas 12 years ago, but I'm your mother's sister."

Sam looked at her. Victoria shrugged.

Abel nodded nervously.

Sam decided he better take over.

"Abel, whatever you tell us, we'll believe you. Dealing with things that are weird is kind of our job."

The young man looked back and forth between them.

"Can you kill him?"

"Kill who Abel?"

"Him, the devil, Lucifer."

Sam and Victoria leaned toward him at the same time.

"What?" They said simultaneously.

"Last night, he came to me, in a dream. He looked like the girl I had a major crush on that died in a car wreck last year. It was weird. She was trying to get me to let him use my body. She said I was the perfect vessel. That I could have anything I wanted after he was done. I said no. She got angry, then she became sweet again. She said she could come back to me if I agreed. I still said no. The next morning, when daddy said mama just sort of vanished, I thought that…"

Victoria sat back on the couch. How were they supposed to beat the devil? She never thought the devil would appear in the form of her sister. She chuckled at the realization. She quickly realized how inappropriate that was and sobered up.

"Abel," Sam began, "We will do everything in our power to…" Sam was interrupted by a 'woosh'.

Victoria gasped as Elizabeth, or now Lucifer, was standing behind Abel.

"Sam, long time no seeies. How have you been? Oh yeah, I don't care. What do you have here?" His eyes widened as he took in Victoria.

"Sam, you found a Chosen One? One of Daddy's little pets? Of course you did."

Victoria and Sam stood as he walked closer to them.

Victoria swallowed hard. She could feel his immense power, it radiated from him. She tried not to look as terrified as she was. He stopped about five feet in front of them. Ezekiel taught her how to hide an Angel blade in her coat sleeve, and she took the slightest comfort in feeling the cool metal against her flesh.

Sam motioned for Abel to leave the room. As he tried to get up Lucifer forced him back into his seat with a slight hand gesture.

"Don't leave yet little buddy, the party's just getting started. You see this one," he gestured to Sam, "just like you, rejected me again and again. Can hurt a fella's feelings. I had to choose a woman for a vessel. Really gets confusing with the pronouns. But she was just so willing. All I had to say was that I was an Angel and she just let me come on in. I'm sure you'd have a lot more brothers and sisters if guys in her high school knew that trick."

Abel tried to rise again, this time from anger, but once more Lucifer bound him to the chair with a slight move of his finger.

"I actually think I like this vessel. Women just have something men don't, I can't really explain it. It's like sassy incarnate. I just feel so much more, feisty. You know what I mean Chosen One?"

Victoria truly didn't.

"Take this dress, for instance. No man would look this good in anything. Your sister's a hottie, which I guess makes me a hottie now. What do you think Sam?"

Sam completely ignored Lucifer's monologue and got straight to the point.

"I thought you were better now. That Chuck apologized. I thought you were different, you fought with us."

Lucifer looked at Sam questioningly. "Yeah, I was different, but then Dad went on family vacay with his sister, who, oh yes, tried to kill me. And by the way, working with you and that brother of yours is pretty much worse than the cage, I'll never do that again." His eyes narrowed as he looked back to Victoria. "I wonder if Dad would come back if I killed this little gem. He did put a lot of effort into you." He shrugged his shoulders, "Let's see."

Sam tried to step in front of Victoria but she effortlessly pushed him aside. She felt a familiar warmth in her palm and as Lucifer raised his hand toward her, she did the same to him. Two incredibly bright lights charged at one another. Victoria felt her body weaken immensely as each second passed. He was incredibly powerful. She fought against the pain and tried to strengthen herself mentally as each light tried to overcome the other.

Sam quickly ran to a wall and cut his hand open to draw the angel banishing sigil.

Victoria felt herself losing, his light was overcoming hers. She tried to fight it, but she knew she was over. She felt blood leaving her nose and eyes. She could taste the metal on her tongue. Lucifer's light was an inch away from consuming her when he vanished.

Victoria collapsed to the floor and Sam rushed to her side. Blood was pouring out of her eyes and nose. Sam took off his jacket and tried to hold it to her face.

David walked into the room and yelled. Abel ran to him and told him to get towels.

Sam pulled Victoria onto his lap and yelled, "Cas!"

Instantly the angel and his brother were in the room. Dean kicked the coffee table aside so they could surround her on the floor as well.

"What the hell happened?"

Cas put his hand to her forehead. "I can't heal her, what is this?"

Sam replaced his jacket with the towel Abel offered him. The young man then escorted his father out of the room.

"Her sister isn't missing, she is Lucifer's vessel. She showed up here and tried to kill Tor."

"Tried?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, she held her hand up to him and it looked like their forces were fighting. She held him off long enough for me to draw the sigil."

"She fought Lucifer?" Cas looked at the broken woman bleeding profusely onto the towel Sam held to her face.

Victoria had never been in so much pain in her life. She felt like her internal organs were on fire, as if they should leave her body, as if they were foreign. Her throat was stabbing her by some means, her eyes burned as if they were suns, and she was conscious of every hair inside her nose, because each one hurt. She knew from the immense pain she was alive. She wanted to know if Sam was too. She focused all her energy on getting her eyes to open. Slowly, and even more painfully, they did. Once they were open for a moment they thankfully stopped burning.

Sam kept maneuvering the towel so the blood could be better absorbed. He stopped moving when he saw her eyeballs move beneath her eyelids. When she opened her eyes they flashed the same blue they did when Cas put all his memories into her mind. Only this time, the flash lasted longer. Once it was gone Sam put his hand on the side of her face.

"Tor?"

"You're okay?"

Sam sadly smiled. "Yeah."

Victoria looked towards Dean and Cas.

"Hey guys."

Dean and Cas each smiled as they relaxed and sat back on the floor.

"You scared the hell out of us." Dean said as he started to stand up. Cas followed suit.

"Sorry." Victoria muttered. She tried to sit up but the effort caused blood to rise up her throat. She coughed a little before blood came spewing out of her mouth onto the bloody towel on the floor next to her.

Cas turned away, Dean walked over to him.

"I can't fix her Dean." His eyes were intense, disappointed, and sad.

"She doesn't expect you to Cas. She'll be okay, and stronger. She fought the devil today, and she's still here."

Victoria felt a tiny bit better after vomiting the blood. She felt she was able to sit up and speak. Sam helped her lean against the couch. She looked at him. He was covered in her blood, but his only concern was her.

"Cas?" It was the first time she called him by his nickname, but she didn't have the energy to say the rest.

He walked over to her and knelt down.

"Get Mary and do the thing." She put her hand to her chest.

Cas squinted his eyes. "You want me to carve the warding into her ribs?"

Victoria nodded slightly. "And me."

"You're very weak, Victoria, I don't want to injure you further."

She looked at him pleadingly.

He reluctantly put his hand on her chest. She inhaled sharply before he disappeared. The sharp breathing caused her to cough up more blood.

It took ten minutes for Castiel to bring Mary back. They saw why when she had bags with stuff for all of them.

She dropped everything and went to Victoria.

"Oh sweetie." She would have started wiping the blood off her face but there was nothing to wipe it with.

Victoria smiled slightly at her.

"How long do we have?" Victoria pointed to the sigil.

"A few hours at most." Castiel said as he nervously paced back and forth.

"Dean, can you…"

"Get these jokers branded and out of the house?"

Victoria nodded gratefully.

"Come on Cas." Cas looked at Victoria one final time before leaving the room with Dean.

Mary went over to the bags she brought. She got out a change of clothes for Sam and one for Victoria.

"I'm going to go find the master bathroom and draw you a bath."

She went out of the room.

"Tor, what you did, how did you?"

"I don't know, it just felt like what I should do, but I was losing Sam, had you not banished him we all would have been dead. That's what he was going to do. Kill me, then you, then Abel. You saved us all."

"You bought me the time to do it. And you pushed me out of the way."

Victoria looked at him, "I told you Sam, you can't always be willing to sacrifice yourself. You're too important."

Mary came back in the room. "Everyone is running around like crazy out there. Cas is having to prove to your brother-in-law he's an angel. I think he's getting put out. Sam, pick up Victoria and follow me."

"Oh, I can walk." Victoria quickly learned she couldn't as she didn't even make it six inches off the floor before she began to feel the blood rise in her throat.

Sam scooped her up and followed his mom. Victoria felt conspicuous and silly.

"Sit her on the edge of the tub and go across the hall and shower." Mary handed him the clothes she brought into the bathroom.

Sam did as he was told. Mary closed the door behind him.

The warm water soothed her pain riddled body. Mary stood close watch to make sure she didn't pass out and drown. It took three wash cloths to get all the blood off her face.

She didn't know how long she was in the bath, but when she got out she felt marginally better. She could walk without any bleeding, which was a big improvement.

Mary and Victoria joined the men in the living room. All the other inhabitants of the house were gone.

"We need to go." Cas kept looking around, making sure they weren't being watched.

Mary went and got the bags from the other room. When she got back, she handed them to the boys. "Take those to Victoria's car, we'll be there in a minute."

Sam drove to Victoria's apartment. Mary, Victoria, and Cas were cramped into the minute backseat. Sam kept checking on Cas who was behind the driver's seat.

"I'm fine, Sam." Cas always remembered that no matter how one was doing, humans always said they were fine.

Luckily, the drive was a short one.

* * *

"Your house is warded."

Victoria looked at the Angel. "Yes, but you'll be fine once you're inside. Ezekiel said that the warding makes it more or less invisible to other Angels, but once you're inside your powers will not be affected."

Cas continued to stare at the outside of the apartment. The others made their way inside. Victoria turned back to talk to Dean. "You'll have to physically shove him in the door."

Dean took Cas by the arm and dragged him inside.

Victoria slowly made her way up the stairs and collapsed onto the right side of her bed. She fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"This guy takes up more of our time."

Sam furrowed his brow at his brother.

"Really Dean?"

"Look, I just wanted a couple of nice, ordinary hunts. But no, Lucifer has to ruin our lives, again."

"It's my fault he's out." Cas looked at Dean and then the ground.

"Cas, we discussed this, you did the right thing. We needed him to take out Amara. You were the only one strong enough to say yes. Besides, I thought he would be better now."

"Apparently he's upset about Chuck's holiday with the being that tried to kill him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he was going to kill Victoria in order to see if He'd come back."

"Still with the Daddy issues?"

"Seems like it, yeah."

"But he's still all murdery?"

"According to Victoria."

"So, he's got to go back?"

Sam nodded. Cas leaned back on the sofa. Mary brought in a tray of tea.

Dean sat forward on the couch.

"You know who we gotta call."


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale! Thank you so very much to the followers! _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 18

The Gang's All Here

Victoria looked at her phone that Sam must have put on her nightstand. She had been asleep for thirty six hours. It was ten in the morning. She looked over, Sam must already be up. She wondered where everybody slept.

Victoria stretched as she sat up in bed. Her body felt strong, powerful. She thought of the word invincible, but she knew that word was dangerous. It often came to one's thoughts before one had an unfortunate meeting with Fate. She showered, dressed, and headed downstairs. She stopped on the landing and started to head back up.

Sam stopped her, "Tor, you okay?"

"I'm going back to bed so that I can wake up."

Sam looked at her questioningly.

"Obviously I'm having a nightmare. Either that or the self-proclaimed King of Hell and his witch of a mother are in my kitchen having tea with your brother."

Sam shrugged.

"You know what? I think I'm in a coma, and I've been in a coma the last nine years. That thing I thought was a demon was just a human who put me into said coma. That's it. I'm going to try and wake up from that."

Victoria Doyle started walking back up her stairs when Sam grabbed her arm. "Tor, you know that's not true."

She turned around and looked at him. "How long have they been here?"

"Just about an hour. We figured you would wake up about now."

Victoria sighed and headed towards the kitchen. "Where's Mary?"

"She's in your guest room organizing your old case files."

"That's nice of her."

"She didn't really feel comfortable down here."

"I completely understand that."

Crowley, Rowena, and Dean were sitting at the kitchen table. Cas was leaning against the counter, arms folded, glowering at Crowley. He looked at Victoria as she entered and smiled at her a little. She returned the gesture before opening her fridge.

Mrs. Turner must have cooked for everyone last night. Victoria pulled out a piece of fried chicken and a biscuit. She completely ignored the supernaturals in the room, although she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She nibbled at the fried chicken as she put her biscuit in the microwave.

Crowley decided to break the silence. "Victoria, the boys here tell me that you're a Chosen One, which of course I can now see for myself. They make them prettier now. The last one I met was the size of Moose here with a face resembling an unshapely piece of rock."

Victoria took her biscuit out of the microwave and placed the chicken inside of it. Sam took the empty seat at the table since Victoria was eating standing up.

She looked at Castiel. "He's not here for training purposes?"

Cas glowered once more, "Unfortunately, no."

Rowena remained silent and continued to sip her tea. She could feel the energy radiating from the woman, she decided for the moment it was best to keep her own council.

"Tor, I know this isn't ideal, but they can help. Rowena can open the cage so Lucifer's ass can go back in."

Victoria looked at Dean. He looked tired, and somewhat disheartened. She could tell he did not want to work with the likes of these two, although he felt there was no other choice.

Victoria finished her biscuit, poured herself a cup of coffee and went to stand by Castiel.

"That's true dear, I can put him back where he belongs."

Victoria turned her head, examining the woman. She was ancient, had seen many things, good and bad, but one thing was constant, she always looked out for herself first.

Victoria turned to Crowley. His thoughts were revolting, murky, and macabre. She saw other Chosen Ones, one Crowley himself killed. She saw all the things he had done to Castiel, Sam, and Dean. She saw his addiction to human blood, she saw him consume humans, kill thousands, damn more to eternal suffering. She saw him makes deals with the others in the room, not for their good, or for the good of the world, but for his own. After all, he was a demon.

"I don't understand why he's still alive."

"The four of us can't seem to kill each other love. We've all tried, on numerous occasions. However, we all need each other in the end. Like a successful boy band whose members try to have solo careers."

Dean rolled his eyes. Cas continued to glower.

"You killed one of my predecessors."

Crowley narrowed his eyes at her and slightly turned his head as he took another drink of his brandy. "Ah, yes. That was ages ago. I had heard all the hype and wondered if they were as invincible as one was lead to believe, they're not. One good blow to the heart, and farewell, Chosen One. Which makes me ponder, Victoria, as to why you're being so discourteous when you evidently need my assistance. Lucifer almost succeeded in massacring you, had it not been for Moose here, you would be dead." He took another drink of his brandy. He continued to stare at her, almost as if to challenge.

Victoria had never met a demon she didn't instantly smite. Talking with one was an entirely new experience.

"Had you not murdered that Chosen One, you would have learned that what doesn't kill us quite literally makes us stronger. I fought the Devil two days ago, Crowley, and didn't die."

"He made you his bitch. Sorry Darling, all hype."

Victoria could tell he was challenging her, he wanted to see what she could do. He knew she was powerful and he wanted to see how much. Crowley and his mother adored power, they always tried to align themselves with it.

She could feel Castiel stirring beside her. Crowley's words were getting to him. She discreetly put her hand on top of his. She read that Crowley noticed. He seemed to notice everything.

"You may be right, but I wasn't that literally. I believe that was you. Do you miss being led around on a leash?"

Crowley smiled as he drank more from his glass. "I like this one boys."

"I'm glad a demon approves of me. I might be able to live with myself now, I was having such a rough go of it before."

Sam smirked.

"As you probably already know Darling, I want to witness a taste of your power. Call it a favor, if you will. Or insurance, I want to know my chances of dying are slim to none when combating Lucifer. Self-preservation and all that."

Victoria looked to Castiel first, then Sam. They both nodded. She shrugged and put her coffee mug down.

"What were you thinking?"

"Well, I'm the strongest entity in the room, so what can you do to me?"

He must not have known about Castiel's newly repaired wings, or he had a largely inflated view of self.

"I can smite you, but I assume you were thinking along the lines of something else."

"Yes, I would enjoy the show more if I were not dead."

Victoria pulled him from this chair and pinned him to the wall with a flick of her wrist. Everyone, including Crowley, looked surprised.

"There are two hundred and six bones in the body you're possessing. I have the ability to break every single one beyond repair, one at a time, or all at once, if I choose. I can also keep you in that body, try to vacate."

Crowley tried, and nothing happened. He smiled.

Victoria released her hold on him. Crowley straightened his suit.

"Color me impressed, love." He resumed his seat and finished his drink. "I'm on board boys, what's the plan?"

* * *

Victoria looked across at Sam as he was helping her make the bed.

"I don't like the plan."

"Which part?"

"Any of it. Summoning Lucifer?"

"We've done it before."

"And it failed, did it not?"

"Well, yeah. But we'll have the angel banishing sigil on stand-by, just in case."

"Which will send Castiel away too."

"Right, but he always comes back. He'll just call."

Victoria sat on the bed and leaned her head against the headboard. Sam sat next to her.

"We both almost died Sam. As you know I don't usually doubt my ability, but in this case, I can't help it. Not to mention receiving help from a demon and a witch? It seems…"

"Insane?"

"Something along those lines."

"Look Tor, you're stronger now, Cas can help you focus that, and you'll be ready. He's got to go back to that cage, and we're the only ones who can do it."

"Don't you get tired of having the weight of the world on your shoulders Sam?" Victoria looked at him not with empathy, for she had never had to save the world, but with sympathy.

"Yeah, Tor, I do. Dean and I, we've been through this so many times, Cas too. But now we have you, and you were meant to do this."

"I think you were too. You don't have the abilities, of course, but do you know how extraordinary that makes you? And your brother? You can't smite or heal but you've saved the world. That makes you truly astounding Sam Winchester."

Sam halfway smiled as he turned his gaze from her to his hands.

"Not flattery?"

"I would never do you the disservice of flattery. I care for you too much."

"You care for me?" He returned his gaze once again to meet hers.

"Don't go out and buy a Hallmark card or anything." She gave him a little smile.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

They broke their stare when Dean coughed loudly in the doorway.

"There's an abandoned warehouse about fifteen minutes from here. Tor, if you're up to it we should probably head over there so you can train with Cas. Get your new strength all concentrated."

Victoria stood up, Sam followed suit.

"Of course, I'll be right down."

As soon as he thought they were out of earshot Dean slapped Sam on the back of the head.

"Ow." Sam held his head, "What was that for?"

"I saw that stare Sam, don't ruin this."

They continued to walk down the stairs.

"You're talking to me about staring? And don't ruin what?"

"What is that supposed to mean? And don't ruin what we have with Tor. Whatever you're feeling, it's not gonna work."

"You and Cas stare at each other all the time. All the time Dean. We all notice it. It's like intense too. I'm not going to ruin anything with Victoria. We care for each other, that's it."

"We do not stare at each other all the time. We look at each other when we're talking, that's it. Like normal people. Care for each other? You sleep in the same bed Sam. I wasn't gonna say anything because Mom said not to, but that's weird, because you know, nothing's happening."

They were standing facing each other on the landing now.

"Did you ever think that maybe it's nice just having someone there? Look, Dean, I'm not going to lie to you, I probably care more for Victoria than she does for me. I know who she is. I'm not kidding myself. I will never make her feel uncomfortable, or try to pressure her to become something she's not. I get it. But I have a chance here to form a relationship with someone who cares for me. Can you let that happen?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Dean, Cas is like a brother to me, you know that, but you and him? You two are more."

Sam keeps talking so Dean can't interrupt. "I don't mean the way you're thinking, no subtext here." They both smiled a little.

"You admire each other. He turned his back on Heaven for you and you searched Purgatory for him. He's your best friend. You share a bond, Dean. I was jealous even, until Tor. Honestly, I thought you might be her favorite too, until she asked me to come with her here. Just like you need Cas, I need her. So please, don't ruin it for me, just be happy someone finally likes me more."

"I don't want your heart to get broken, Sammy."

"I don't think she wants that either. I know what I'm doing Dean, just trust me."

Victoria joined them on the landing. "Ready, Dean?"

She grabbed her coat from the banister. "Where's Castiel?"

"He's waiting for us at the warehouse. He refuses to ride in the back seat of your car anymore."

Victoria smiled as she headed out the door. "Bye, Sam!"

"Bye."

Dean patted his brother on the shoulder. "I think Mrs. Turner is bringing over some pie, so don't eat any of it."

Sam nodded as Dean left.

* * *

"Victoria, you have to focus. Your hand to hand is improving, but you have to try and block my attacks completely, even if they no longer cause pain. Archangels are much stronger than I am."

"You're plenty strong." Victoria said, trying to catch her breath.

"You're stronger." Cas lunged at her with the blade, she caught it in her hand, causing it to bleed. He let go of the blade, quickly turned Victoria around by her shoulder, and held her to his chest with his hand holding the wrist that controlled the blade to hers. His other hand was gripping her free one.

Victoria released the hand that was being held by her side from his grip. She rapidly grabbed his other hand and forced it from hers. Before he could confine her again she turned around and pushed him onto the ground. She knelt over top of him with the blade held above his heart. She smiled a bit, thinking she had won.

"Focus." Cas said, before grabbing the blade and switching their positions.

Victoria tried to regain the wind that was knocked out of her. "That's not entirely fair Castiel, had you been anyone else I would have stabbed you."

"Fights are not fair Victoria. You know that." He sat down on the ground and took her hand to pull her up to his level. "I worry about you, I worry about this fight." He looked away from her to where Dean was sitting reading an inappropriate magazine. "They deserve better than this. They gave up so much, they deserve to spend time with their family."

"Aside from me, I think that's what they're doing. Granted the situation isn't ideal, but you and Mary are their family, and y'all have been inseparable."

Cas looked at her and smiled faintly. "I have been around since the beginning, and I ended up with a human family."

Victoria smiled slightly at him. "You turned into so much more than a soldier. You are the epitome of what your species can become. As are they." She looked at Dean. "I never truly realized how alone I was until the four of you more or less forced your company on me. I can't say I haven't enjoyed it. Although it does complicate matters."

Castiel titled his head.

"The other day, after the fight with Lucifer, when I woke up my first thought was of Sam's welfare. Caring for others to that degree complicates this job, priorities shift, the minority wins, no matter the cost to the majority. I think you already know this."

Cas glanced at Dean. "I understand that sentiment, yes."

"That's what I loved about Ezekiel, his intentions were always pure, to the point, he never doubted himself or his abilities. He was so good, and he always acted on that goodness. He was never unsure that he was doing the right thing."

"That can be a dangerous thing for angels."

"For some maybe, but not for him. I could read his thoughts Castiel, when I chose, and they were never anything but pure."

"He was a good soldier."

"And Guardian."

"I am sorry, Victoria."

"It's not your fault in the slightest. I simply lament his passing from time to time." She smiled at him sadly.

Dean looked up from his magazine. "Less talking, more fighting. There's a pie waiting on me."

Victoria rolled her eyes as she stood up. Cas did the same.

* * *

Mrs. Turner, Mary, and Sam were sitting around the kitchen table when Cas, Dean, and Victoria returned. Victoria made Dean sit in the back of her Mustang on the ride back.

"Victoria, it's good to see you up and around again honey."

Victoria smiled at her landlady as she went to pour herself a cup of coffee. Dean took a seat at the table while Mrs. Turner cut him a large piece of chocolate meringue pie.

With his mouth full Dean muttered, "Oh my God, this is so good."

Mrs. Turner smiled, pleased with his enjoyment. Mary laughed slightly as she looked at Victoria. Mary noticed she was ever so slightly holding onto her right side.

"I told these boys if they want to get in some shooting practice y'all can go up to the farm and use Bill's old targets. He had a trap too I think. Y'all can go tomorrow and Mary and I will go into town. We could both use some new clothes."

Victoria nodded as Mrs. Turner got up to leave.

"Now, there's leftovers in the fridge for tonight. Victoria, you and the boys can cook for us tomorrow when y'all get back. You youngins have more energy and we'll be tired from shopping."

"Of course, Mrs. Turner. Good night."

They all said their appropriate adieus as Mrs. Turner left.

As soon as Mary heard the front door close she went over to Victoria and quickly lifted up her shirt before Victoria could refuse, revealing a large bruise on her ribs.

"Sweetie."

Cas walked over to her. "You did not tell me about this." He reached out his hand to heal her and Victoria pushed it away.

"You can't heal me every time Castiel. I did not tell you about this for that reason, and I didn't want you to feel responsible. It will heal stronger than before."

Cas put his hand back by his side. "I am responsible. I'm sure that occurred the second time I pinned you to the ground."

Victoria smiled. "Probably, that was an interesting and unexpected maneuver."

Sam looked inquisitive.

Dean finished his pie and looked up. "Maneuver? Tor, come on. You swept his feet out from under him and he landed on top of you. On that concrete floor. It was the like the worst noise ever. I'm surprised Cas isn't black and blue too."

"I am an Angel of the Lord, Dean, I do not bruise."

Dean rolled his eyes as he cut himself another slice of pie.

Sam walked over to her to inspect her injury. She winced as he lightly traced the bruise with his fore and index finger. "At least two of your ribs are broken. Do you have a wrap?"

"Upstairs hall closet."

Sam nodded and left to go fetch the dressing. Victoria put her shirt back down and leaned against the counter to drink her coffee.

"I'll ask Mrs. Turner tomorrow if we can stay at her farm house until the time comes for us to fight the devil. It's spacious with plenty of land. It's too small for all of us here."

Mary nodded in agreement.

Cas was watching Dean eat the pie. "Are you not concerned with the side effects eating that will inevitably result in? Remember the last time? Your human digestive tract will cause you grief later."

Dean looked at his friend. "Really, Cas? Are you trying to ruin the best thing that has happened to me today?"

Cas shrugged as Sam came back in the room with the wrap. Victoria sighed as she lifted her shirt so Sam could bandage. She shut her eyes to escape the pain. When she could no longer feel his hands she opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Sam, that does feel better. You two have bandaged each other up a great deal haven't you?" She picked up her coffee cup and held it in between both of her hands. She let the warmth of the mug spread throughout her body.

Sam and Mary retook their seats at the table. Sam and Dean looked at each other.

"Broken bones, dislocated shoulders, bullet wounds, yeah, we know how to bandage a few things." Dean put the last bite of pie into his mouth.

Mary's face was overcome with guilt and sadness. Victoria noticed it and wanted to make it better.

"Until Castiel."

Sam nodded. "Now he heals us. When he can pull himself away from Netflix."

"That was one time, and a very intriguing episode."

Victoria smirked as she rinsed out her mug and put it beside the coffee maker. She looked at the three other mugs that had accumulated there. She had lived there eight years and it had always only been her mug by that coffee maker. She hated to admit it to herself, but she liked the change.

* * *

Dean was rummaging around in the kitchen when Victoria interrupted him.

"Do you have any beer or liquor or anything like that?" Dean looked at her.

Victoria filled the kettle that was on the stove with water from the sink, put it back, and turned the burner on before looking at Dean.

"No, I do not."

"You don't drink either?" Dean sort of plopped into one of the chairs, he rubbed his chin with his hand.

Victoria got her and Sam's coffee mug and put tea bags in them and placed them by the stove, she then sat by Dean.

"In spite of my better judgment I have come to care a great deal for your family. When you all entered my life I was determined to not let any of you infiltrate my heart, for feelings get in the way of what I do. I failed miserably at this. I am fond of each and every one of you, particularly your brother. He never fails to exceed my expectations, he has been the only human to ever do so. You four have drastically changed my life in a way that has made me happier then I can ever remember being. At this point I feel comfortable with you enough to tell you why I don't have any alcohol in this home, it's not because I don't have vices."

Dean looked up at her.

"I'm not a perfect being Dean, by any stretch of the imagination. I am flawed, horribly so. As you already know my personality leaves something to be desired."

"You're not so bad once we got to know you."

"No one else has taken the time."

Victoria got up when the kettle started whistling. She turned the stove off and poured the boiling water into the mugs.

She sat back down and resumed speaking. "After Ezekiel left I found myself dreading the nothing. After my cases were taken care of I was truly alone with my own mind. I had never experienced that before. My mind was always busy. Whether it was with school or training. I never had to be alone with my thoughts. My thoughts are not attractive when not occupied. Give me a puzzle and I'll solve it, give me a demon and I'll smite it, give me a human and I'll evaluate them, but the nothing? That was too much for me to bear. I knew other people drank to alleviate their pain or loneliness, so I thought I would try it to eliminate the nothing. It worked, all too well."

"What made you quit Tor?"

She looked Dean in the eyes for a second and then stared down at her hands. "That was one of the moments of my life I am the least proud of. It was about a year after Ezekiel left. I had just finished taking care of a shape shifter problem down in Louisiana. I came home to the nothing in my mind and just started drinking. I lost an entire weekend. When I woke up there was a message on my phone for a case. During the time I was trying to occupy my mind with copious amounts of alcohol a young couple on their honeymoon were killed. I could have prevented that, I could have saved their lives. Because of my inability to handle my brain's boredom two people didn't get to live out their lives. I quit right after."

Dean felt closer to her in that moment than he had the whole time he had known her. He could sympathize with her, understand the guilt, in that moment she became more human, less machine. "Tor, had I known I would've thrown everything out of the bunker."

Victoria smiled at him. "I've had my moments of almost drinking again. But then I think about that couple. That always makes me stop. The nothingness never went away, the boredom sometimes knocks on my mind. Usually when I'm alone, not solving anything, just being. But I can tell you one thing for certain, I haven't heard the knocking since the day I met you and your brother. You could have an entire liquor store in that bunker of yours Dean Winchester and I wouldn't be tempted to drink a drop."

She got up before he could reply, took the two mugs and headed towards her room.


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale! And thank you so very much for the favorites and follows! They are always such a wonderful inspiration to keep writing! Please feel free to send me comments or suggestions for this tale! _

_Chapter Warnings: This chapter involves a human chef whose tastes venture towards the macabre. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 19

For Sam

"_Let's go in here to escape the rain." _

_They were standing on the stairs of a church, trying to keep the rain out of their eyes. _

"_Can't you just fly us home?" _

"_Let's just go in here." _

_Ezekiel opened the church door and ushered Victoria in. _

_Victoria felt conspicuous as she stood by the door sopping wet. Although this church was only fifteen minutes from home she had never gone inside. _

_She noted that their singing was beautiful, and contagious. She had never felt the urge to sing in her life, but that urge was consuming her right then. _

_A lady on the back pew noticed the two strangers and motioned them to stand behind her. As the lady was leaving the pew she whispered, "I'll get you two some towels, now stand right there and don't go anywhere." _

_Victoria looked over at Ezekiel. She had never seen him so at peace. He appeared to be so content in the house of his Father's followers. She smiled and committed his countenance to memory. _

_Victoria and Ezekiel took the towels from the lady, although Ezekiel was already dry. Victoria often wondered how those particular angel powers worked. They sat down next to the lady. Victoria noticed that she began singing along. Ezekiel looked over at her and smiled. _

Victoria woke up and looked at the time on her phone. It was 4:00am. She had a message from a police department in Cooperstown, New York. Someone had been slowly eaten. Victoria responded that she would be there as soon as possible.

"Sam?" Sam immediately woke up. Victoria was surprised he didn't grab his gun from under the pillow.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. We have to go to New York, possible ghoul."

"Yeah, sure, okay. Just let me get dressed."

Victoria stood up. "You take out here, I'll take the bathroom."

Sam nodded.

Victoria was finding it easier to snap out of her dreams of him. Tears no longer streamed from her cheeks when she awoke. His memory was still prevalent, but the pain was lessened. She was learning to appreciate the moments she got to spend with him.

While she was brushing her hair Victoria noticed she was humming the song they sang in that church on that rainy day.

Sam stood outside the bathroom door listening to her hum for just a moment before he knocked.

"Tor?"

"Come in." Victoria put her brush down and looked towards the door.

"Hey, sorry. Cas is going to take us, I got coffee brewing. You have to go cups?"

"Yes, top shelf of the normal mug cabinet."

As Sam closed the door behind him, she wondered if she was the only one with an entire cabinet dedicated to mugs.

* * *

Victoria walked downstairs to hear Sam, Dean, and Cas having an abnormally loud discussion in the kitchen.

"Look Sam, all I'm saying is that Cas and I should take care of this one. Tor has to get ready to fight the Devil. That takes preparation."

"What better preparation than a hunt, Dean?"

"She has two broken ribs, and needs to rest. What she doesn't need to be doing is flying all over the country smiting things."

"Dean."

"What Cas?"

At that moment Sam and Dean noticed Victoria was standing in the doorway.

"Hey Tor."

Victoria took the mug Sam pointed in her direction and sat at her kitchen table.

"I think I know you three well enough by now to know something other than my job is causing discourse among you."

As she knew he would, Sam started talking first. "Dean is worried that something will happen and we won't be here."

Victoria took a drink of coffee and looked at Dean.

He looked at the floor and Victoria knew why he hesitated.

"I think you and Castiel should go."

Dean looked at her questioningly.

"Sam and I are probably needed more here. We need to get the farm house ready and we're contractually obligated to cook tonight. Besides, I wouldn't mind a bit more sleep. I'll text my contact you two are coming in my place."

"Tor, if you want to…"

Victoria interrupted him, "Dean, no part of me wants to hunt a ghoul right now. I'm tired, and frankly, worried. You're right, I do need rest. You and Castiel go and save some people. Get some pizza, then come home in time for dinner."

Without another word, Victoria went up to her room. She drifted off to sleep as she felt Sam get back into his side.

* * *

Victoria awoke to the sound of Sam's voice on the phone.

"It's not a ghoul?"

Victoria's interest was piqued. She turned over to look at Sam. He shrugged as his eyes met hers and handed her the phone.

"Dean?"

"Hey Tor. So, whatever this is is not a ghoul. The body isn't messed up enough, there's only certain pieces missing."

Victoria sat up on her bed and rested her back against the headboard.

"What pieces?"

"Liver, some muscles, I mean, whatever did this knew what it was doing."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just gross Tor. I think the body was preserved so the thing could keep eating."

Victoria felt her heart's pace speed. This manner of planning was not something supernatural's were typically known for. However, there were always exceptions.

"I suppose you want Sam and me to join you?"

At this point in their relationship Dean thought of Victoria as a little sister. She was family, and he needed her. Just like with any family, she annoyed him from time to time. Her comment made this one of those times.

"Look Tor, this son of a bitch is taking people, somehow preserving them in some sicko manner, and eating them piece by piece. I don't know what it is or who it is. So yeah, if you could come help with your special Buffy powers, that'd be great."

Sam heard that part of the conversation due to Dean's sudden loudness and decided that would be the perfect opportunity to make sure all his stuff was packed.

Victoria felt anger at that moment. That feeling annoyed her. She was becoming more accustomed to feelings in general. Annoyance was one she was most accustomed to living with the Winchesters, but anger was somewhat new. She didn't like it. Anger led to poor decisions.

Victoria decided to not let her anger win. She simply hung up.

* * *

"Dammit." Dean tossed the phone onto his bed. He looked to his best friend. "What?"

"I told you calling her Buffy would probably not be the best course of action."

"Shut up Cas."

Castiel shrugged and started watching TV again.

Dean sat next to his angel.

"I think it's a human. And that disturbs the hell outta me."

"Humans, as well as supernatural beings, are capable of great evil."

"I know, it just creeps me out when we find one."

"Do you want me to go get Sam and Victoria?"

"Please."

* * *

Victoria would not make eye contact with Dean when they were all in the hotel room. She couldn't pinpoint the exact reason for her anger, and that bothered her. She wanted an apology. She had never felt the need for an apology before, but she wanted one from Dean Winchester.

She walked over to the table where the case files were, sat down in a chair, and started to go through them. Sam sat across from her, laptop already searching whatever else he could find.

Dean was torn. He did and did not want to apologize at the same time. He knew he was wrong for being so hard on the girl, but then again, her response bugged him. How come he had to apologize?

Victoria's anger subsided as she became more intrigued with the case in front of her.

"Dean?"

Dean walked over and sat beside her, across from Sam. Castiel took the last chair.

"This was the victim you and Castiel examined in the morgue?"

"Yeah, that was him. See how he's all sewn back together? The pathologist didn't do that."

"I don't think a typical supernatural being would either."

Sam scooted his laptop on the table so the other three could see, "So, get this, the body was found at the feet of a statue."

Victoria looked at Sam's laptop. It posed a funny picture, the statue of a man in nice clothes with a dead body draped in burlap.

Burlap.

Like a sack of potatoes.

"Can you make the picture bigger?"

Sam zoomed in. It definitely looked like the bag from a sack of potatoes.

Victoria got up from her seat to begin pacing back and forth across the room. She thought more efficiently when she paced. Each time she changed directions her coat made a 'swoosh'.

The boys remained silent but kept watching her pace back and forth. Sam was waiting for a brilliant revelation, Cas was worried she would have a 'human moment', and Dean was waiting for her to throw up.

Victoria took her seat once her side began to ache.

"What's the deal, Tor?"

"I think you know Dean, which is why you were so, shall we say 'upset' on the phone earlier?"

Sam looked at his brother quizzically.

"It's a human."

"Yes, I believe so, not only based on the evidence, but because I can't hear anything, which must mean anything within a twenty-mile radius of here must be human, or an obscure, unknown creature which is highly unlikely."

"Only twenty miles?"

Victoria glared at the shorter brother, "I'm working on it."

Sam stared at his computer in order to hide his smirk.

"So we have to find and gank Hannibal Lecter."

"I thought those books were fictitious."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"They are Cas, Dean was just using a literary example."

Victoria smiled at her favorite Winchester.

"I've never solved a case involving a human. I've never been consulted on one." It wasn't like Victoria Doyle to experience self-doubt, and she didn't understand why such an emotion was rearing its head at such an inopportune moment.

Sam closed his laptop to focus on his friend. "Tor, you know people. You had me and Dean's personalities down pat after knowing us for two days. Dean and I have dealt with humans before. It's not pleasant, but I know we can do it."

Victoria looked at Sam. His eyes always displayed just the right amount of emotion at just the right time. Looking into those eyes made her realize she needed him. That thought scared her more than any Hannibal Lecter lurking around Cooperstown, New York. She only ever needed one other being, her Guardian. Sam was not her guardian, in many respects he wasn't even her equal. She didn't need him for protection, or to learn from. She needed him simply because he was Sam Winchester and she was Victoria Doyle. She wanted him safe, in the bunker or her apartment. She wanted him to never worry about another bump in the night. She wanted him happy, with a family. She wanted him to have the best life he would never be able to have.

Dean coughed, breaking their gaze.

It took Victoria a moment to focus on the problem at hand.

"I think we should start by interviewing employees at local restaurants."

Dean grimaced, "Eww."

* * *

There was only one restaurant left. All the others were full of annoyingly normal employees.

Dean Winchester enjoyed actually legitimately working with the local authorities. His questions were always answered without question, and his requests were usually granted. He was enjoying the last bites of a sub sandwich as they entered the last restaurant.

"Welcome!" An older lady opened the front door allowing the four to enter. The restaurant was only open for lunch and they were cleaning up the afternoon's mess.

"I'm Misses Johansen, the police called and said you four would be here. I'm the owner, well, with my husband."

Victoria began looking around as Sam started talking to Misses Johansen. "Thank you ma'am. I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean, Castiel, and the lady over there is Victoria." Victoria waved in their general direction when she heard Sam mention her name.

At the previous eateries, each employee came to a table where they could be questioned by Sam, Dean, and Victoria while Cas looked around for anything strange. This did not prove to be a good strategy however, because Cas thought a lot of things were 'strange'. Dean was chosen to be the searcher for this go around.

Victoria, Sam, and Cas were staring at a thirty something year old woman who was incredibly, strikingly, beautiful. Dean kept poking his head out of the kitchen to look at her. The woman was fair skinned, with dark hair and bright green eyes. She looked like a doll that had come to life.

"My Aunt tells me that you needed to speak with me." The woman looked at Sam as she spoke and smiled sweetly at him.

"Yes Miss Lightfoot, we were wanting to ask you a few questions."

"Of course. I would be glad to assist any way I can."

The lady seemed to shift uncomfortably under Cas's gaze. Victoria couldn't blame her though, he was studying her fairly intently. Victoria lightly placed her hand on top of his underneath the table so she could see what he saw. Castiel saw her soul. He felt her soul and it bothered him. The feeling was unsettling.

"Castiel, why don't you go help Dean?"

Cas nodded as he got up and went back towards the kitchen.

Because of Castiel, Victoria knew this woman was the one, she was the murderer. Now she had to somehow prove it.

"Are you in school, Miss Lightfoot?"

The lady took her eyes off Sam to look at Victoria, it was evident the change wasn't welcomed.

"Not anymore. I graduated from University a few years ago."

"Overseas?"

"No, here. Well, in the states I mean."

"But you went overseas recently?"

"What is your fascination with my travel, what is your name?"

"You may call me Miss Doyle. I am fascinated with your travel because your phrasing isn't exactly local."

"I read a great deal Miss Doyle, it reflects in my speech."

"I also read a great deal Miss Lightfoot, extensively, one might venture to say. It is a great hobby of mine. In fact my colleague and I were reading just this morning about how you are a local celebrity."

"Oh?" The lady was having to work twice as hard to feign disinterest as she was before.

"Yes, it seems you attended a rather prestigious culinary school in Europe. You came back here recently to help your Aunt's struggling restaurant with your new skills. A celebrity and a hero." Victoria smiled in the most insincere way she could muster.

Sam leaned back in his chair and decided to simply watch the show.

"What is your point Miss Doyle?"

"Why did you lie Miss Lightfoot?"

"I did not. I assumed you meant a University when you asked, not a culinary school."

"I see. Just out of curiosity Miss Lightfoot, what is your University degree in?"

"Biology." She was too proud of herself to lie.

This time Victoria's smile was genuine.

Victoria's mind was racing. She needed motive. But psychopaths do not need motives. But why? Why go from a small town girl with a lot of promise to a cannibal? Did something traumatic happen in Europe? What trauma could possibly turn someone into a cannibal? The victim, a native, loved by everyone. Charitable, town council, whole nine. Why eat him? Eat. Consume.

Consume.

He was missing for days before he was found. Days.

"Your Aunt was telling me about your dinner party before we started her interview. She told me you were a wonderful cook."

Miss Lightfoot's whole demeanor changed. "Oh my Aunt is very kind. It was just a few tricks I learned at school. I thought a nice little dinner party would brighten everyone's mood considering Mister Steed had been missing for two days by that point. He really was very loved by everyone here."

"Including you?"

"Oh, of course. He was like another father to me when I was little. When I grew up I wanted to be just like him."

"So you ate him?"

Sam almost fell out of his chair.

Dean choked on a piece of food still in his mouth while he was in the doorway. Cas slapped his back, causing Dean to swallow and have a very embarrassed look on his face.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't look so taken aback Miss Lightfoot. You and I both know we are both too intelligent for such games."

"Fair enough, Miss Doyle. This, of course, is not a confession, you are not even a real detective."

"No, and hunting beautiful, educated, psychopathic females is not my typical assignment."

"And your friends here?"

"I believe they are better versed in the fine art of psychopaths than I am."

The lady nodded and smiled coyly. "I'm very good with food Miss Doyle. It was a talent that was waiting for me to explore its limitations. My food is art. It is beautiful, it is consuming, it is less nourishment, more experience. When my food is consumed, it is an experience for those who are lucky enough to be able to place it on their tongue. I have experimented with all types of meat. I discovered that the more experience and life an animal had, the better the experience on the palate. I began to venture into the area of humans with my cooking professor. He was masterful in all aspects of his life. He took passion seriously and it showed in his cooking. We together noticed the minute flavor differences based on the animal's age and life. Our first human experience was a homeless man. We made a joke, saying he was free range. We became more and more daring. We noted the rich tasted best. Probably their upbringing, all those nutritious foods the poor cannot afford."

She paused to look down at her hands. Victoria took the opportunity to look at her companions, all of which were obviously horrified.

"We became too cocky, and he was caught. I fled, and came back here. I knew my particular style of cooking would be risky in a town such as this, but I had no other option. I had to continue my art. My art is my life. Mister Steed was the best man in town for the honor of my first dish. You see Miss Doyle, I simply had no other choice. In order to continue the lifestyle I was accustomed to I needed to consume Mister Steed. His particular lifestyle choices came out beautifully in a brown butter sauce."

Victoria dared to ask. "The dinner party?"

"Yes, they enjoyed him too."

Victoria would normally smite at this point, but this one was human. She got her phone out to text the local authorities to meet them there.

Victoria looked up to see Miss Lightfoot holding a knife to Sam's throat. She felt a moment of panic. She looked at Dean, he had his gun raised to the lady's head.

"I wouldn't hit 'send' Miss Doyle."

"You're annoying. And decidedly disgusting."

"You're more human than you let on to be. I could tell you care a great deal for this one." She pushed the knife into Sam's throat, releasing blood.

Victoria felt her eyes burn.

She didn't remember the next few seconds. When she was fully in control of herself again she had Miss Lightfoot on the ground with her hand on her chest. Victoria wanted to rip out her still beating heart. She could feel it under her hand pumping blood at a rate twice at what it should be. She wanted that evil things' heart in her hand. She wanted to watch her die.

The thought scared her and she got off the woman and brushed her coat off. Dean got the woman off the floor and sat her in a chair.

Victoria went over to Castiel, who was healing Sam's neck. They both looked at her in shock.

She didn't say anything and brushed by police on her way out the door.

Victoria Doyle stood outside the restaurant and took deep breaths that filled her lungs to full capacity. She felt every breath and allowed the oxygen to help calm her.

She felt Dean standing beside her.

"Tor…"

"I wanted to rip out her heart Dean. I wanted to feel it in my hand."

"Tor, look…"

"I can't, I can't ever do that again. I lost control. I don't even remember attacking her. I was quite literally in a blind rage. I don't think I can be around any of you any longer. I wasn't meant to do that, I'm not, I've got to, I can't."

Victoria started to walk away, Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. For the first time in a while Victoria Doyle allowed herself to cry.


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale! I always appreciate feedback and suggestions! Thank you!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 20

That was my coat.

The four decided to stay in the hotel room that night because it was paid for and they were in New York. Not to mention they were all a little disturbed.

Mary and Mrs. Turner had a good time shopping and decided to enjoy a nice dinner out anyway, so everything worked out in a weirdly normal fashion.

Victoria was sitting on the bed reading an old novel that had absolutely nothing to do with anything that was happening around her. She was trying to escape into literature but Sam kept staring at her.

"What Sam?"

"Don't you think we should talk, Tor?"

Victoria knew this was coming but she didn't want to discuss anything at the moment.

Dean and Cas looked horribly uncomfortable.

Victoria put her book down next to him. "About what? About how I almost killed another human because she hurt you? About how I was going to leave but cried on your brother's flannel shirt instead? About how I only stayed with you for Castiel and now you're my family? About how I care about you more than any other human and equal to one being in my entire life? About how creepy female Hannibal was, or about how my sister is currently Satan and I would really like for her to not be? What's it gonna be Sam?"

"You care for me more than any other human? Ever?"

Victoria grunted as she got off the bed and stormed out the door.

"Probably not the best part to focus on Sammy."

* * *

Victoria wrapped her coat around her tightly as she walked along the road outside the hotel. She didn't know where she was going, and she knew she was going to go back, but she just needed some time.

"Victoria?"

Chills went all through her body. It was his voice, but it wasn't his voice.

She looked up and saw him, but it wasn't him.

He was as lovely as ever, standing next to a tall man with a baby stroller.

The man gave her a hug. She kept her arms in her pockets. It was him, but it wasn't.

"Hello Holden."

"Do you know what happened, I mean to Ezekiel?"

Victoria looked at the tall, handsome man with the stroller.

"Oh, sorry. Victoria, this is my husband, David, he knows everything. It's okay."

Looking at him was like looking at a ghost, a shell. It made her heart ache. She could feel the emptiness inside of it. Unconsciously, she put her hand to her chest.

"Hello Victoria. Holden tells me you are quite extraordinary."

"You should've seen me with my Angel."

"What happened Victoria?"

"The angels fell. And he didn't make it."

Saying it caused her such intense pain she thought her heart might break again.

"I'm so, so sorry. I know you cared a great deal for each other."

Victoria felt Sam's hands on her shoulders.

"You okay, Tor?"

No, she wasn't. Not inside. But that's not what he meant. He wanted to make sure the two men with the baby stroller in front of her didn't pose a threat. Of course they didn't, so,

"I'm fine."

Sam took the reins because he knew he needed to. "Hi, I'm Sam Winchester. Victoria's friend."

"Hey Sam, I'm Holden, this is my husband David, and our baby girl Esther. We call her Essie."

Sam looked in the stroller and smiled. "She's cute."

"Thanks, we think so." Holden looked at Victoria, "Does Sam know about me?"

She nodded. She couldn't look at his face anymore.

"I was Ezekiel's vessel."

Sam's heart sunk. He knew Victoria's day was just made 10,000 times more difficult. He knew she didn't really care for feelings anyway and today was the mother-lode of feelings.

"It was very nice to meet all three of you, but I'm afraid Tor and I have got to get going."

"Of course. We were just on vacation. We read about the local 'incident'. I'm guessing that's why you're here?"

Sam nodded.

Holden looked at Victoria and sighed sadly. "Victoria, I cannot imagine how seeing me made you feel. I'm sorry. I know you loved him. I know he had a special relationship with you, being your Guardian. I loved him and I was only his vessel."

Victoria looked at him and they shared a sad smile before the vacationing family walked on.

When Victoria was out of earshot Holden looked at his husband. "That was my coat."

She couldn't move, or think, or even try to function.

It was worse than a ghost. He was a happy, human, functioning shell. Ezekiel's shell. He should be happy. That's what Ezekiel would want.

Ezekiel would want her to be happy too. Victoria looked at Sam and saw the concern in his eyes.

"Yes, you're my all-time favorite human."

Sam smiled.

"And as such you get to take me to dinner."

"Anything in particular?"

Victoria paused.

"Nothing with meat."

* * *

After dinner Sam and Victoria decided to see a movie at the town's theatre. They decided to just be friends, in the moment, instead of focusing on what could be or what might have been. They didn't talk about Victoria's reaction to Sam's injury, Victoria seeing Holden, they talked about things they liked, things they had in common. It was a glorious few hours, and they decided they should do that at least once a month.

Cas was sitting on the couch reading Victoria's novel when they got back to the hotel room.

"Where's Dean?"

"He went to the hotel bar. He said he 'needed a girl'. I'm pretty sure I know what he means, but I didn't ask particulars."

Sam smirked as he went into the bathroom.

Victoria looked at Cas as she went back out the door. "Tell Sam I'll be back."

Victoria sat down next to Dean on a barstool.

"I think I've lost my touch Tor."

"Which one did you try for?"

"Blonde hair, four o clock."

Victoria studied the woman.

"That's because she is waiting for her husband to come see what she's doing."

Dean looked at her quizzically. "You been holding out on me Doyle?"

Victoria smiled. "Deduction."

She continued to look around the room.

"The young woman sitting four seats down from you. Her boyfriend cheated on her. She wants to get back with him eventually, but not until he's learned his lesson. There. You. Go."

Victoria got up from her stool and went back to their room.

Sam raised his eyebrow at her as she came through the door.

"I helped your brother regain his 'touch'."

"Do I want to know what that means?"

"I can spot women who want to sleep with him."

"You'll never be free again."

Victoria sat next to Castiel on the couch. "That book was already in my memory, reading it was redundant."

Victoria started reading the first few lines intently. Everything that happened in the story came rushing to the forefront of her mind. "Great."

* * *

Mary and Mrs. Turner had made the farmhouse quite homey. Cas, Dean, and Sam started the warding as soon as Mrs. Turner left.

Victoria sat in the barn knowing this would be the place they would have to do it. The mere thought of what they would have to do made her blood feel cold.

She closed her eyes and prayed before returning to the house.

Mary couldn't understand why all her 'kids' were suddenly vegetarians, but she decided to go along with it. She knew it probably wouldn't last anyway.

Cas was holding his head while Dean was hovering over him on the couch.

"Cas!"

"Angel radio Dean, an extremely important message from the looks of it."

Victoria sat next to Sam on the opposite couch.

Dean sat next to Cas and waited for it to pass.

Castiel looked at Victoria. The look made Victoria want to listen, but she didn't.

"Victoria, a Nephilim has come into being. Lucifer's offspring."

Victoria's heart jumped. "My sister? My sister is…"

Dean leaned back on the couch. "Son of a bitch."

"So my sister, once he is out, will be fine right? Whatever is growing inside of her will be taken care of?"

"I do not think it is that easy Victoria. If we are successful in putting Lucifer back in the cage, then your sister will be free, yes. However, I don't think the Nephilim will be 'taken care of'."

"Sometimes I think our lives couldn't be anymore weird right? Then this crap happens."

"Not helpful Dean."

"But true Sam. Your friend there, her nephew or niece will be Rosemary's freakin' Baby."

"We cannot afford to think of that right now. Our primary focus will be getting him back in the cage. Then, and only then, can we think of the child." Victoria heard herself say child. Even though, at this point, it was not a child. But she had to say it. Had she already developed some sort of connection to her nephew? Impossible. It has just come into being. Why did she think nephew? Not niece?

"Tor?"

Sam and his damn understanding. "It's a boy. It's my nephew. Please don't ask me how or why I know that. I shouldn't. I just do."

"And it got weirder."


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

**_Thank you so, so much for the reviews and follows / favorites! _**

_I am always open to comments and suggestions! _

_Again, thank you for reading!_

_Chapter Warning: This chapter contains some heavy stuff. Elizabeth is dealing with the effects of being Lucifer's vessel and Victoria is dealing with the effects of her sister being used in such a manner. The upcoming chapters will go back to the adventure / drama / bonding / and slight humor (I hope) of some of the other chapters. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 21

Goodbye. And Hello. Then Goodbye Again.

The day had come.

Crowley wouldn't agree to help unless Victoria was in another state.

Sam said Victoria would be better help than Crowley, but Rowena wouldn't help unless Crowley did, and they needed Rowena. Dean knew the sneaky bastard was up to something, but he couldn't help it, they needed the witch.

Victoria anxiously awaited news. She was scared, anxious, and any other word synonymous with terrified. She was scared for Sam. She was scared for Dean and Castiel. She was scared for her sister and her nephew.

* * *

"Really? A summoning? You could've just given me a call. I mean we're besties. Right Sam?"

"Go to hell, Lucifer."

* * *

Castiel brought Victoria back to the barn. Her sister was lying unconscious in a circle of holy fire that Victoria extinguished before she walked to her side.

She was fine, uninjured. She could feel her nephew's presence. She could read his thoughts. They weren't evil. They were pure, even. The thoughts made her feel calm and reassured.

"Good evening, Victoria."

Her heart stopped when she heard it. That was the voice, his voice. She dared not turn around for fear she was dreaming. But she had to.

It was him.

"Ezekiel?"

He nodded and smiled. Victoria ran to him. He held his arms open, welcoming her embrace.

Sam had a hundred thoughts going through his head just then. They had defeated the Devil for the umpteenth time. They were going to have to make some type of plan for the Devil's spawn, and they just saved the world, again. But the thing that mattered most, in that moment, was that his best friend was hugging the one Being whom she loved more than him. And in that moment, jealousy and fear outweighed all the other feelings in Sam's mind.

Dean had seen Angels come back from the dead. But always only Cas. Because in his mind Cas was the only one that mattered. He knew Ezekiel was good. He knew it. He didn't mind the fact there was another angel on earth. He minded that the other Angel was going to take his brother's girl. He knew she wasn't his girl in the typical sense, but she was his girl nonetheless.

Castiel knew team Free Will had saved the world again. He knew he played a part in that. He knew he was important. He also knew Sam might lose the girl he had grown so close to, and he might lose his charge and the girl who inspired him to greatness.

"How?" Victoria broke away to look at her angel.

"You prayed for a miracle."

"I missed you."

"I knew nothingness, Victoria, and yet somehow, I missed you too."

Ezekiel touched the collar of her coat. "You're a sentimental human, aren't you?" He smiled as he looked at her.

"It was all I had."

Ezekiel put his hand on the side of her face and wiped away her tear with his thumb.

"Hey, sorry to break up the little reunion, but, what the hell?"

"Dean Winchester, Sam, I am Ezekiel. Although I have a very strong suspicion you knew that already."

Ezekiel looked at Castiel. "Hello, Brother." Castiel smiled and they hugged. Dean rolled his eyes.

"That brother crap always gets you in trouble Cas, remember?"

"I have heard tales in my very short time back on earth about my brethren. For their crimes against you and your brother, I am sorry. For their crimes against my brother, I can offer nothing but condolences and reassurance you will always be welcomed in Heaven."

"You're not staying? To continue my training?" Victoria Doyle turned from the strong woman she was into the frightened girl she used to be in the presence of her angel.

"You have surpassed my expertise, Victoria. Castiel is a far better Guardian than I could ever have been. You need him, not me. I am needed in Heaven. I was brought back for a purpose. Initially, I thought that purpose was you. Upon seeing your success, however, I realize that my purpose was not to be with you, but with my brothers and sisters in heaven. They need guidance. I think I can lend it. Not to mention the fact Holden has a family now, they need him. Be strong, Victoria. You too are needed."

Victoria nodded as she looked towards her sister.

"You will come back from time to time?"

"Yes. I can hear your prayers, and I hope that sometimes, you will hear my thoughts."

He kissed her forehead, and with a 'whoosh' he was gone.

Sam didn't know if he was more sad or relieved.

Dean knew which he was. He scooped up Elizabeth and headed towards the house. Everyone else followed.

Victoria went to her and Sam's room and laid down on the bed. Things were happening so quickly now, she seemed to have trouble processing. Her angel was alive, but he didn't want her anymore. But why did he kiss her forehead? He never did that before. Maybe that was his intended good bye. It was a good good bye, she had to admit.

Sam came in and laid next to her. He didn't say a word, and she was grateful. She loved how Sam just let her be. So they laid there, not sleeping, not talking, just being.

* * *

"VICKY!"

Victoria ran down the hallway at the screaming of the nickname she abhorred. Sam was following behind her.

Elizabeth was standing across from Dean and Cas, glaring at them.

"These two men are trying to tell me that I'm carrying Rosemary's Baby."

Victoria looked at Dean. He shrugged.

"Lizzie, sit down please."

Elizabeth sat down and Victoria sat next to her.

"You know the Angel you let possess you?"

Elizabeth nodded. "He said he was going to change the world, make everything so much better."

Dean scoffed. Sam punched him.

"Lizzie, that was no ordinary Angel. That was Lucifer. And he didn't really make the world better. He just used you, and slept with someone apparently."

Elizabeth's hand went to her stomach. "I am pregnant?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes, and I can hear his thoughts Lizzie. He's a good being."

"He's half angel?"

"Yes."

"That's an abomination though, right?"

"I don't think we should use that word anymore, about anything. I've seen too much. He's your child, and my nephew."

"What do you mean you can hear his thoughts?"

"Your sister has a gift, Elizabeth. She's one of God's Chosen. She can do magnificent things. She helps people, and sometimes she helps supernatural beings. She, and I, along with Castiel, my brother, Dean, and my mom, will help you."

"Who's this one then?"

"That is Sam. And I'm extraordinarily fortunate to know him."

Victoria meant it. She knew Ezekiel would come and go, but then again he always did. Sam would stay. He would always stay. In a way that frightened her, but she also knew it was exactly what she needed.

"What about my other kids, Vicky, David?"

"You should've thought about them before you agreed to let an archangel use your body."

"Dean."

"Seriously Cas? No, we're in this sinking boat because she said yes to the Devil."

"Jimmy said 'yes' to me."

"That's different, through Jimmy you saved the world, Cas, lots of times. She almost destroyed it."

"Let's go outside, Dean."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry about my brother Elizabeth, he's under a lot of stress."

"I get the feeling. What's going to happen to me?"

"If you go through with the pregnancy, you will not survive childbirth." Victoria could feel tears pooling in her eyes. Sam, who was sitting on the coffee table across from them, grabbed her hand.

Elizabeth put her hand on her stomach.

"David, the kids?"

"They're okay right now. I can't tell you what to do Lizzie. I don't, I don't know."

"He's good?"

"He's good."

"He'll change the world for the better?"

"He will most certainly try."

"You'll help him?"

"We all will."

"Can I see my family?"

Sam shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Your son is a big deal. Angels and demons will want to get to you, to get to him. You are only safe when you are with us. This house is warded. However, it would probably be safest in our bunker."

"Did he say bunker?"

"Yes, it even has a dungeon."

Elizabeth had to let a lot sink in. She had so much information in such a short amount of time.

"If I don't go through with it, can I see my family then?"

"I don't think so. It would not be safe for them, ever. Or for you. You were a successful vessel to the strongest archangel, and a body that held a Nephilim. I don't think you will ever be safe again."

"All because I said 'yes'. Your brother was right."

Victoria did not know what to say. She was never close with her sister; however, and this was probably due to her time with the Winchesters, she felt sympathy for her.

"Look, Elizabeth, Dean has his way, he's just Dean. But he wasn't right. I said yes to him too."

Elizabeth looked at Sam with interest and shock at the same time.

"Apparently you and I are perfect vessels for that son of a bitch." Sam sadly snickered before continuing. "I thought I could save the world, and you thought the exact same thing. We're both good people, we were trying to do good things."

"Thank you, Sam. I think I need to rest. I'm tired, and, well, overwhelmed."

"Of course."

Sam led Elizabeth to one of the empty bedrooms.

Victoria couldn't find the will to move.

* * *

Victoria couldn't remember Dean and Castiel coming back into the room and sitting across from her. She couldn't remember Mary making dinner. The only thing she could think of was her sister's face when she learned she would never be able to see her family again.


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

**_Thank you so, so much for the reviews, favorites and follows!_**

_I would love to hear from you guys about any comments or suggestions you might have for this story!_

_Chapter Summary: Dean and Tor go on a case, and they get some rather unpleasant news._

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 22

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Guilt.

It's useless. It does absolutely no one any good. It's like rust, once a small spot begins to form, the whole thing is in danger of destruction.

Dean closed his laptop so loudly Sam jumped.

"I've got a case."

"Okay?"

"For me and Tor."

"Dean, I don't think now is the right time for her to be…"

Dean interrupted and sat across from Sam. "She hasn't left Elizabeth's side in days. Days, Sam. She looks like crap."

"Her sister is dying, Dean. Cas can't bring her back. We don't know how long she's got. So her behavior is understandable."

"Come on, you know the girl. This isn't her. Something is up with her. And since you haven't been able to figure it out, I guess I will."

"I have figured it out. Her sister is dying. She's bonding with both of them. She's basically going to have to be a mom, Dean."

Dean looked pensive for a moment, "Wait, does that mean you're gonna be a dad?"

Sam closed his eyes and rubbed his neck. "This child is going to be a powerhouse. Everything I've read says that he will be able to surpass the powers of his angelic parent. Besides Tor, who do you think would be up for that challenge?"

"Cas?"

Sam nodded. "Besides, according to Tor, the baby seems drawn to him."

"How does it feel about us?"

"Tor says she can feel him calm when I come in the room." Sam smiled. "She thinks I would be the best moral compass."

"And me?"

Sam shrugged. "She really hasn't said."

"Great."

Victoria came into the room looking exhausted. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat next to Sam. Her normally bright eyes were dark, and tired.

"Hey."

She was becoming constantly more impressed with Sam's intuitiveness. "Hey."

"Where's Cas?"

Victoria looked at Dean. "He's with Lizzie and the baby. He's trying to see if he can be taught things about his nature before he's born."

"I found a case."

Sam glowered at his brother.

"Oh?"

Sam chuckled at Tor's response.

"I think you and I should take care of it."

"Why?"

"Because I think it would do you a hell of a lot of good to kill something."

Victoria couldn't fault that logic.

"My sister…"

"Will be fine with Cas, Sam, and Mom until we get back."

"I don't know."

"Come on Tor, Saving people, hunting things, the family business?"

Victoria slightly smiled.

"We kill it, we come back."

"Absolutely."

"Let's go kill something."

* * *

Victoria agreed to let Dean drive. She gave the keys to her 'Stang to Sam just in case they needed to drive somewhere. She missed her car.

"She wants his name to be Jack. He's fond of it."

"So, no worries about him being literally the Devil's spawn?"

Victoria understood where he was coming from.

"Dean, I know you've spent practically your whole life hunting monsters. I know that you've died protecting the world from the supernatural. I can assure you, Jack is not one of those things you have killed. He's good. I can feel it."

"Listen Tor, I've been thinking about that, are you sure that's not just because he's your family?"

"I know that you would always think the best of Sam, no matter what he did. You would always defend him, you would never give up on him. In regards to Sam, I admire that. As you know, I'm particularly fond of him. Unfortunately, I feel that I would also defend him in spite of anything. I'm not going to lie to you Dean, I would probably treat Jack in the same manner. Is that a good thing? No, of course it isn't. It goes against everything I was taught. My feelings and my education seem to be at war these days. Sometimes I think it would have been best if I had never met you or Sam at all."

"Tor, I…"

"No, really. I was a perfect textbook example of a Chosen One. I did my job, I helped people, feelings did not interfere. Now? Now I have to stop myself from ripping a woman's heart out just so I could feel her die. And why did I do that? Because of Sam. Because he had a superficial cut on his neck. Because he was hurt, I wanted to kill."

"Family isn't rational. I mean we do things that put ourselves and others in danger because we want our family no matter what. We stick together, we do whatever we have to to stay together. You're family Tor. You, me, Sam, Cas, and Mom, we're a family. And dammit I'm not sorry we met you. It scared me a little when you jumped on that crazy bitch, yeah, but it was for Sammy. I've seen him tortured, abused, used as the Devil's plaything, and he's the strongest man I know. He's been through all that crap and he's still kind. He still sees the best in people. You need Sam as much as I do. And he needs you. He needs us. And yeah, your feelings get in the way. But you're human. Hell, even Cas's feelings get in the way and he's an Angel."

"He's your angel, Dean, that's why."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"That right there. Why do you get angry when I say your angel? He's so obviously your angel. I want you to understand this Dean Winchester: Angels don't feel. It's not in their genetic make-up. It's not built into them. He lived for millennia and did not feel anything until he met you. Now he feels everything. Love, selflessness, guilt, pride, anger, hurt, resentment, joy, peace, every human emotion because of you. He saved you from hell and you saved him from an existence without emotion. His loyalty is unsurpassed, it's unbridled, and overwhelming. You and Sam, being the men you are, created that in him. So, no matter what you may say to the contrary, he's your angel."

"Sorry Tor, I thought you meant, well, uh, never mind."

Victoria paused for a second before the realization hit her.

"Oh."

"No, forget it."

Victoria chuckled at Dean's obvious embarrassment.

"Shut up Tor."

"There's no need to be embarrassed. Castiel is your Angel just like I'm Sam's Chosen One. Neither one of us is ever going to leave either one of you. So no matter what you call it: love, loyalty, family, or friendship, we're together. No matter what."

"You still wish you hadn't met us?"

"Sometimes, yes. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the fact y'all have made me more human."

"And Jack is our what?"

"Our child."

"Four parents?"

"Five, counting your Mother. Considering he is likely to be the strongest being in all of Creation, I don't think five is overdoing it."

* * *

"Please tell me why you didn't want me to contact the authorities again?"

Victoria was less than impressed with the quality of the motel room Dean picked out.

"I wanted you to experience this like a true hunter."

"I think one of the 'designs' on the comforter just moved."

"It's not that bad Tor. Man up."

"I'm a woman Dean. So I can't 'man up.' I am also disturbed by the fact the owner of this establishment asked if we wanted the hourly or nightly rate."

Dean snickered.

"Then he glared at us when you said nightly and he noticed we didn't have wedding rings. And Mr. and Mrs. Smith, really?"

Dean didn't care to admit he just watched that movie again.

Victoria felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket and was happy to see it was a FaceTime from Sam.

"Hey Tor, how's it going?"

"Your brother decided we should stay in a roach motel."

"Hiya Sammy!"

"Hey Dean. Yeah, he likes those. Does it have one of those fake screen things and a TV from 1992?"

Victoria looked around. "Complete with both."

Sam smiled. "We kinda miss you."

Victoria sat down in the chair next to Dean after inspecting it. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine, it's just, different."

Dean realized just how much that girl meant to his brother in that moment. He knew right then he would do everything in his power to keep things as close to the way they were as possible.

"I'm gonna go see if the owner has noticed anything creepy going on around here."

Victoria looked up from the phone. "Besides himself?"

"Yeah, besides that."

Dean left and Victoria looked back at her phone.

"Being on a hunt is different without you. I'm not particularly fond of it."

"Dean's a good partner though, you'll find this thing in no time."

"Then come home."

"Yeah, then come home."

"We probably need to head to the bunker soon Sam, I'm getting worried, Lizzie seems really pregnant."

"Do you want me to get everyone ready so that when you and Dean get back we can go?"

Victoria appreciated almost everything about Sam Winchester. He was almost perfect.

"That would be wonderful."

"So, um, I'll talk to you later?"

Victoria smiled. "You better. Monsters I can handle, bugs I cannot. Your reassurance will help me sleep."

Sam laughed. "Bye Tor."

"Bye Sam."

* * *

"You brought me on a case where the 'events' are a man dying of a heart attack after noticing his house had been cleaned and some of his food was missing?"

"Right."

"To quote you, 'what the hell'?"

"Tor, it's weird. We've built cases on less. The man's house didn't clean itself. And the food didn't just disappear. Then, he died of a heart attack? I don't think that's coincidence."

Victoria rubbed her temple as she stared at Dean. They were in a small diner, surrounded by locals. Apparently everyone ate supper at 4:00 there. Victoria sipped her coffee as Dean thoroughly enjoyed his hamburger.

"You sure you don't want a bite?"

Victoria grimaced. Unlike Dean, she was not over the 'incident'. "No."

Dean shrugged and continued eating.

A teenage girl came bursting through the front door of the diner. "Mama, mama!"

A waitress ran to the girl. "What is it baby?"

"Mama, I went home to get my phone charger and a lion was on top of Daddy. Mama, it was eating him!" The girl sobbed into her mom's apron. The woman rubbed the girl's back.

She yelled to the manager. "Call Earl and get him and the boys to my place quick." She kissed the top of the girl's head. "It's all right baby."

Dean looked at Victoria. "Still think we don't have a case?"

* * *

Dean decided that working with the local authorities was probably a good idea. He and Victoria stared at what was left of the victim.

"Definitely looks like an animal attack." Earl ran his fingers through his beard. "If it's all right with you Miss Doyle, I'm gonna have the boys bag the body up and take it to the morgue."

Victoria nodded as she looked around the house.

"Dean?"

"Hum?"

"This place is impeccably clean isn't it?"

Dean looked around. "Yeah, besides the murder mess, it's spotless."

Dean walked into the kitchen, Victoria followed. He opened the fridge. Little bites had been taken out of a hunk of cheese. Little bites had also been taken from an apple, a piece of chocolate cake, and a stick of butter. "What the hell?"

Dean shut the fridge and looked at Victoria. "Can you hear anything weird?"

"No. However, if I'm not familiar with a particular creature that's not unusual."

"So you have to know what it is to hear it?"

"Know of it usually."

"So this is a brand new ball game."

"Appears so."

"Great."

* * *

Dean rolled his eyes as Victoria went around the motel room with disinfectant wipes.

"Tor, little help here?"

"Dean, you are just as apt at Google as I am. You find it, I'll smite it, and we will go home. Meanwhile, on the off chance we can't find it, I refuse to die via a preventable disease."

"Okay, so this thing seems to target men who are either stay at home dads or have been recently laid off. It's small, has humanish teeth, and it likes food. Probably also shapeshifts."

"Probably."

"And it cleans." Dean looked at Victoria. She was spraying the comforters with Lysol.

"Obviously it has not been here."

"So, we ask the locals who has been laid off or who stays at home?"

"Or Earl. I'll text him rather. He seems talkative and I do not feel like 'talkative' right now."

Victoria sat across from Dean at the small table. "Earl says he is 'on it'. For however much confidence that inspires." Victoria leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "So, what is it?"

Dean looked back at his computer. "Only thing I can come up with is a hobgoblin."

"Like Puck?"

"Yep."

"Hum. I thought they were myths." Victoria laughed in spite of herself.

Dean gave her a look. "They normally aren't dangerous, but they have been known to go a little cuckoo."

"I guess that's what our Puck did."

"Guess so. Maybe the food sucked."

"Understandable." Victoria opened her eyes and looked at Dean. "I'm hungry."

Dean closed his laptop, grabbed Victoria's coat and held it so she could slip it on. "Come on, while Earl's locating the guy whose ass we're gonna save, I'll buy you a salad."

* * *

Victoria was just finishing up her supper when her phone buzzed.

"That Earl?"

She nodded.

Dean laid a twenty-dollar bill on the table and they left.

The house whose front door they stood in front of was modest and homey. Victoria imagined it was the type of home she would have liked growing up in. She thought about Jack, and how he would have to grow up. Was a bunker a home?

A fifty-ish man opened the door.

"Can I help y'all?"

"I'm Dean, this is Victoria, Earl was supposed to tell you we'd be here."

The man wiped his palms on his jeans before offering to shake Dean's hand. "Yeah, right, he did. I'm Bill Werthers. Nice to meet you Dean, Victoria."

Victoria nodded.

"Y'all can come on it, I was just cleaning before the wife gets home."

Victoria closed the door behind her. She noticed how half the house was sparkling clean, and how the other half was a disaster. She also noticed the several days' worth of scruff on Mr. Werthers' neck. She also noticed his nervous demeanor. She tuned out Dean's investigation of the man as she listened for a hobgoblin.

_I hope they leave soon. Meddling hunters. All I want is a nice, quiet set up where I clean, and then get my payment. It's not my fault the others' pay was not acceptable. Oooohhhh, but it was ever so fun seeing their faces when I scared them. Haha! Oh that last one! Oh, that was exciting. Well, maybe, if I'm being honest with myself, quiet may not be my thing. I like scaring! It's so fun and I get to attack things! I wonder what this guy's face will look like when I change into a, oh, what should I change into?_

Victoria could follow the thoughts, and knew they were coming from the hall closet. So the hobgoblin wasn't exactly evil per se, but he seemed to enjoy killing, and he had to be ganked.

Victoria made her way to the closet. Mr. Werthers tried to stop her, but Dean grabbed him.

When Victoria opened the door, what looked like a small, hairy man ran in between her legs and tried to get out the door.

Dean let go of Mr. Werthers and lunged at the hobgoblin. Dean caught him, squealed when the hobgoblin turned into a humongous spider, and dropped him again. The hobgoblin returned to his original form and made for the door once more.

Victoria rolled her eyes and pointed her hand toward the creature, making him stop in his tracks. He couldn't move, it was as if he was glued to the floor.

"What did you do to me? Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"

Victoria put her finger to her lips, making the creature unable to speak as well. She looked at Dean and shrugged accusingly.

"Don't look at me like that Tor, okay? He changed into a spider. That's creepy. I don't want to be holding a spider."

"You squealed, Dean."

"Don't tell Sam. Or Cas."

Victoria rolled her eyes as she walked over to the hobgoblin. She could see the fear in his eyes and that pained her. She knew he had enjoyed killing humans, and that he would continue if given the chance. Those two men were fathers. Their lives shouldn't have been over so soon. Still, she felt a pang of sympathy for this pathetic creature whose life she was about to end.

"This won't hurt, I promise."

Before she placed her palm on his forehead to smite him, she placed two fingers on his temple to make him have a good dream, that way he would die happy instead of in fear.

Victoria set the body on fire after it had fallen over. Castiel taught her how to control the flames so that nothing around it would be touched. Once there was nothing but ashes, she looked at Mr. Werthers.

"I suggest you do your own housework in the future Sir."

Dean followed her out the front door.

* * *

Victoria was by herself in the motel room. Dean went next door to the bar and seemed let down Victoria declined to go. She kept checking her phone waiting for Sam to call. He always called. Was he waiting for her to call? That seemed silly. Sam didn't play games.

* * *

Dean was talking with a very attractive waitress when he felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. He ignored it the first time but decided it might be important on the second. The woman rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Cas – can this…"

"Dean."

Dean knew by his best friend's voice that this was serious. He put money on the counter for his drinks and went outside.

"What is it Cas?"

"Somehow, someone knew Victoria wasn't here. There were dozens of demons, Dean. I was able to get Elizabeth and Mary to the bunker. When I got back, I killed most of the demons, but Dean, they took Sam."

Dean turned around and hit the brick wall with his fist.

"Dean?"

"I'm here Cas."

"I'm so sorry."

"No, you, you did good Cas. You got mom and Elizabeth outta there. You get back to the bunker and protect them. Tor and I will find Sam."

"Of course. And Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"They killed Mrs. Turner."

* * *

Victoria was about to Facetime Sam when Dean walked through the door of their motel room. She saw Dean's hand and wondered if he got into a fight. Then she saw his face and knew it was much more serious.

She put her phone down, walked over to him, and grabbed his hand. It was healed instantly.

"Tor…"

"Who?"

"Mrs. Turner."

Victoria felt a bubble in her throat. Her eyes burned with tears.

"And they kidnapped Sam."

Victoria looked at Dean and her eyes burned for an entirely different reason.


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

**_Thank you so, so much for the follows / favorites!_**

_I am always open to suggestions / comments! Thank you so much for reading!_

_Chapter Warnings: Victoria gets very, very mad. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 23

The Hunt for Sam Winchester

Dean drove like a bat out of hell. Victoria leaned her head against the window and watched the raindrops accumulate, then roll down the glass.

Mrs. Turner didn't have any family left. Victoria was all she had. Victoria never worried about anything harming those she cared for. She was never in a big enough league for that. Anything who knew what she was, was taken care of. Now she was with the Winchesters. It didn't get much more big league than that. Well, maybe being the guardian to an archangel's child. She suddenly did not feel well.

"Pull over."

Dean pulled over on the state highway as soon as he could.

Victoria ran out of the car and into the adjacent field. She doubled over and began to dry heave. Upon realizing she was in fact not going to throw up, Victoria sat down in the grass and started sobbing. It was as if everything hit her at that moment. Mrs. Turner, her sister, her upcoming responsibility, and Sam being kidnapped and possibly tortured at this moment. She began to dry heave again.

Dean knelt in front of her. "Tor, this sucks. But you and me, we're gonna find Sam, and we're gonna kill the bastards that took him and killed Mrs. Turner. We're gonna bring Sam home. Then, you're gonna bond with your sister before she goes to heaven. But we can't do any of that if you're crying in a field."

Victoria looked at Dean. His face was kind, but stern. At that moment she realized she needed him as well as Sam, albeit for entirely different reasons.

She nodded as Dean helped her up.

They got back in the car and continued to drive to the farmhouse.

* * *

The farmhouse was a disaster. Everything was turned upside down, things were knocked over, Victoria and Dean had to kick their way through. There were bodies everywhere, several with their eyes burned out, several with stab wounds.

"How did they get in, with it being warded?"

Victoria was wondering the same thing. "Maybe they had human help."

Dean walked over and picked up a can of spray paint. "Yeah, seems like it."

"So, the humans rush in first, Castiel gets Lizzie and Mary out, Sam is left to fight off the humans, some of whom erase the warding, Castiel gets back and Sam is gone?"

"And Cas is left with demons. Which he kills." Victoria heard a hint of pride in Dean's voice.

"If humans had taken Sam, Castiel would have been able to find him. It must have been a high level demon who could teleport."

"We need help."

* * *

"No."

"It's the only way he'll help us."

"Which means he's up to something."

"I know. But it's for Sam, Tor."

Victoria sighed. "Against all my better judgement, yes, I agree."

* * *

The King of Hell looked around at the remains of demons. "Impressive for our winged friend." He looked at Victoria, "It's good to see you again love. Thank you for turning off your supernatural hearing."

Victoria simply stared at the demon. "If Sam isn't back safe with his family by tomorrow night, I will boil your eyeballs and feed them to you with a side of au jus."

"Let's save the foreplay for another time, we have to get Moose home."

Crowley looked through the bodies. "Yes, this one I know. He works for a demon named Aristede. A fairly high ranked demon but nothing the two of you can't handle."

"Where do we find him?"

"Patience, Squirrel. Besides, we have a matter of payment."

Dean looked exasperated. "What do you want Crowley?"

"Simple, really. I call, you help me. Just like you call, I help you. Oh yes, and our Chosen One here keeps her supernatural hearing turned off for me just as she does for our Angel friend, hum?"

Dean looked at Victoria.

"If you help get Sam back, I honestly do not care to hear any disgusting thing you think ever again. However, if Sam…"

"Yes, eyeballs and au jus."

Victoria nodded.

"No fretting love. Might I suggest you two clean up this mess to the best of your ability while I go find out where Aristede might be?" Crowley snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Victoria looked around. "We have to let it burn."

"Tor, I…"

"Mrs. Turner has no family, Dean. There will be no one here to claim it. She once told me she was leaving everything to me, because I was the closest thing to a daughter she ever had. Unfortunately, I did not appreciate her as much as I should have."

Victoria felt her eyes burn and she wiped at them with her sleeve.

"I have to call the police here for Misses Turner's death. I'll tell them it was my area, and they'll understand and sweep it under the rug. But this?"

Victoria and Dean looked at the dozens of bodies surrounding them.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with this?"

Dean looked at the woman he so easily considered his sister. "We let it burn."

* * *

Dean and Victoria watched as the flames rose higher into the night.

"I see you two took the easy way out."

Crowley appeared in between them.

"Got an address?"

Crowley took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Dean.

"This is where he spends most of his time. I popped over there to make sure it was worth your time. Moose is there, he is not unguarded. There are several small demons you will have to get through in order to get to Aristede. Word of advice, love?"

Victoria looked at him.

"That trick you did to me, not letting me leave my tenement? Do the same to him the second he lays eyes on you. If he is not incapacitated as soon as possible I'm afraid you'll be his biggest trophy."

* * *

"Hand me your gun please."

Dean raised up in his seat to take his gun from his waistband and gave it to Tor.

Victoria took his clip out and pulled out the ammunition. Once she was done she replaced it with bright, silver colored ammo.

"Did you make those from Angel Blades?"

"I did. Ezekiel would bring them to me whenever there was an, altercation, as he called them. He knew I would sometimes find myself in dangerous situations without him. He thought these would be the best course of action."

"Cool."

"I never really thought about them that way, but I suppose they will prove themselves useful tonight."

"Tor?"

"Hum?"

"This Aristede, he wants Jack, right?"

"I assume so, yes."

"It's just going to be eighteen years of this crap. Not that I don't like ganking things that threaten my family, I do, but, damn."

"I understand where you are coming from Dean. I do not necessarily think we will have to protect Jack. I think our job will be more to guide him."

"Since he's the Devil's spawn."

"Since he will be a new being. Yes, he will have capabilities that will probably surpass and surprise all of us. However, his father has nothing to do with who he can and will become."

"You're a nurture girl huh?"

"Dean, I have to be. Not only for Jack's sake, but for Sam's. He still struggles with being Lucifer's true vessel. He feels he was born for evil. I can tell that sometimes he almost cannot overcome what Lucifer made him endure. He keeps doing good things to try and be okay. The saddest part is that he is so much more than okay, he's practically perfect. Sam is a good person, and Jack will be a good person. Sam had you and Jack will have all of us."

Dean didn't speak for a moment. "Sam had me."

"You have quite literally given up everything for him, I truly believe he's only surviving now because of you."

"He has you too now."

Victoria looked at Dean's gun that was still in her hand. "Yes. He also has me."

"And Mom."

"And Castiel."

Dean smiled. "Yeah. Our family's gotten a lot bigger."

"Jack will be a part of it soon too, if you'll accept him."

"Here's the deal, Tor. You're family. That makes Jack family. And Cas has taken on the role of his 'Dad' and Cas is family so Jack's covered both ways."

"We don't have to live with you though if that's…."

Dean interrupted her. "The bunker's huge. The kid's gonna have to learn about who he is and the bunker's the best place for that. And we can keep an eye on him. Besides that, you're Sam's girl. We're all living together. Plus, you make pie."

Victoria smiled as she handed Dean back his gun. "All of your points were valid, however, I'm ninety percent sure you keep me around for the pie."

* * *

Dean parked far enough away from the house so the engine couldn't be heard. Victoria felt nervous. She held onto her stomach as she didn't like the sensation. It annoyed her.

"How many?"

Victoria closed her eyes and concentrated. "Seventeen. Two are guarding the main entrance. I should be able to pinpoint where the rest of them are as we navigate the house."

Dean and Victoria slowly made their way towards the secluded house. It was so far out from civilization there was no need for a fence for privacy, the woods provided it.

Dean had his angel blade in his hand. Victoria walked beside him, trying not to tread on dry leaves.

Two demons were guarding the front door. Their hands were folded in front of them. They looked like bouncers at a night club. There was really no way for a surprise attack. The property was surprisingly well lit, and the demons would see them coming. Victoria looked at Dean and shrugged. She put her hands in her coat and started walking towards them.

The two demons were confused at first. They saw a woman in a white coat walking towards them in the middle of nowhere. It took the first one to be stabbed by a running Dean Winchester before the second one realized she was a Chosen One. As soon as he connected the dots his life was also gone. Victoria wiped her hand on the body's shirt before looking at Dean.

Dean slowly pulled the lever down on the front door and walked in. Victoria nodded her head towards the right and Dean started walking that way. Victoria pulled her Kimber out of her pocket and motioned for Dean to do the same. He knew that meant they were about to face a crap load of demons.

Fear was an unusual thing to see in a body being possessed by a demon. Victoria sort of like how it looked. Surely these things knew if Sam Winchester was in the house, Dean was going to shortly follow. Maybe these things didn't know. Maybe they were just throwing themselves at the creature who appeared to have the most power at the time. Victoria didn't think much of it as she and Dean shot their way through the fifteen remaining demons scattered throughout the house.

"These bullets are awesome!"

Dean put his gun back in his belt as he shot the seventeenth demon. He got his angel blade back out. He looked at Victoria who appeared to be frozen.

"What is it Tor?"

"I don't hear anything."

"Which means Aristede isn't here."

Victoria nodded.

"Well, Crowley said Sam is, so let's go find him."

Victoria followed Dean as he went room to room looking for his brother. The house was large, and there were far more rooms than necessary.

They made their way to the attic. It was cold and drafty up there. Victoria pulled her coat tighter to her body. At the very top of the stairs there was a door, Dean opened it hurriedly.

Sam was sitting in a chair, unconscious. His face was bloody, his clothes were torn.

"Sammy?" Dean rushed over to him and shook his shoulder. Sam was handcuffed to the chair.

Victoria ran over to them and knelt down to Sam. She put her hand on the side of his face. He instantly woke up and all the blood was gone.

"Hey." Victoria smiled slightly.

"Hey." Sam replied, happy to see her and his brother.

"Tor, I can't get the cuffs off."

Victoria took the handcuffs in her hand and broke them in two.

Sam got up and the three of them started to leave the room. Victoria felt a shiver run down her spine and she stopped. She turned around and saw Aristede.

* * *

She knew Dean was yelling at her. "Smite its ass and come on."

She knew Sam called her name, "Tor! Please!"

She knew they were both in that cold hallway waiting for her, willing her to come on, to follow.

She couldn't.

All she heard, all she saw, was Aristede torturing Sam. All she heard was his screams. She looked at the demon, sitting in the chair covered in Sam's blood. All she felt was hatred.

Victoria looked at the door that was still open. She knew they would be in no danger as long as they stayed out there. She looked towards the two men, felt her eyes burn, and then the door closed.

* * *

Sam and Dean tried opening the door to the attic room. They couldn't budge it. It was as if it was made from far more than wood.

"Dean, that demon will kill her. We have to get in there."

"Dammit. Cas!"

Castiel appeared in-between Sam and Dean. Dean had texted him the address earlier, just in case.

"Sam." Cas's voice was a mix of relief and apologies.

"Hey Cas."

"Cas man, can you open the door? Tor's stuck in there with the head honcho demon that got Sam."

Castiel tried opening the door in every way known to him. "It's sealed, Dean."

"Like by demon magic?"

"Some type of magic. Some type I have no control over, I've never actually experienced anything like it."

"Could Tor have done it?"

"Highly unlikely, I do not believe she has the capabilities to manipulate objects."

"Before the door closed, her eyes flashed purple."

* * *

The demon's chosen body was beautiful. She had dark hair and hazel eyes, accompanied by a skintight red dress. It was as if the demon tried to find as stark a contrast to its soul as possible.

Aristede uncrossed her legs and began to walk around the room. "Your reputation precedes you, I'm afraid, Miss Doyle. I apologize if I am not as shocked by your appearance as most."

Victoria was bombarded with the demon's thoughts. They were horrible, like a black sludge overtaking everything else. Suddenly Crowley's words popped into her head.

She looked at Aristede and felt her eyes burn once more.

"Well, that's a new trick. Bravo Miss Doyle."

Victoria was shaken out of its thoughts by her overwhelming feeling of control.

"You should not have taken Sam."

"It was not Sam I wanted, but I think you already know that."

"You will not get him."

"You underestimate me."

"No, Aristede, I think it is you who underestimates me."

Victoria smiled in an unsettling way, her upper lip curling over the right side of her teeth.

"You are ancient, and you have always won. So, of course you live your death based on the assumption you will always win. I also always win. This right here is not a battle of good and evil. What makes this particular encounter unique is that it is a battle of pure will. This is not a matter of good will triumph. At this moment, I do not feel very 'good.'"

"You are one of the Chosen, you have a code."

"True. I was taught a code. Do you know what trumps 'codes' every time Aristede?"

The demon rolled its eyes, "Love?"

Victoria shook her head. "Hate."

* * *

"I don't understand."

Dean looked from his angel to his brother, "You saw it too, right Sam?"

Sam nodded and turned his glaze to Cas, "Dean's right. Tor looked at us, her eyes flashed purple instead of the normal blue, then the door slammed shut."

Castiel looked puzzled. "She has never shown any ability to manipulate objects. Her power must be fueled by whatever emotion overcame her when Aristede appeared."

All three stopped talking when they heard a woman's screams from the other side of the door.

Sam violently started pulling on the knob to no avail, "Tor!"

* * *

Victoria looked at the smoking pile of goo on the floor in front of her. She felt her body begin to shake. It was as if she was cold, but she was sweating.

She vaguely remembered Sam's hands on her shoulders. She only slightly remembered Dean practically carrying her to the backseat of the Impala. She did remember Sam sitting in the back with her, because his presence was the only thing that kept her from withdrawing completely.

She knew Castiel went back to watch over her sister. Dean thought the drive would do Victoria good. She wasn't sure if anything could do her 'good' at the moment, but she wasn't up to making decisions.


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

**_Thank you so very much for the favorites / follows! They are so__ appreciated!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 24

The form It takes

Victoria Doyle woke up to screams inside her head. Sam suddenly woke and sat up next to her.

"Are you okay?"

"Nightmare. I didn't know you came in." Victoria pushed her hair back with her hand.

"I couldn't sleep, do you want me to go?"

"Of course not, I'm glad you're here."

Sam smiled slightly and they both laid back down.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" The boy who had just been kidnapped and tortured was worried about someone else. Typical Sam.

"I'm sure you can imagine what it was about. Would you care to talk?"

"Tor, this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

That made Victoria incredibly sad.

"The thing that always kept me going was knowing that Dean would come in and save me. I always have that hope. This time, you helped him. I knew you would both be there, I just had to wait."

"And be tortured. I saw what she did to you, Sam." Victoria felt her eyes burn slightly, but she closed them quickly.

"I've been through a lot, Tor. Dean and I both have. And yeah, sometimes I think about it. But I always have something else that keeps me going, something that keeps me pushing forward."

"Dean."

"Yeah, of course. And Cas, Mom, you, and now Jack."

Victoria thought for a few seconds before she spoke. "I have only known you and Dean a short while. However, I think I know you both fairly well. Neither one of you wants to burden the other for fear of causing guilt."

She turned over on her side so she could look at Sam. "I don't have that problem, Sam. I want you to talk to me. I've lived thirty years and you are the only person I tell certain things to. Things I would never speak to another soul. I know I haven't been too upfront with my emotions, and feelings, et cetera. That is only because I am not accustomed to them. When Dean told me you were taken, something felt off. With anyone else it would've been simple determination to get them back. But with you, it was so much more. Sam, tell me things if you need to."

"Thanks, Tor. I will."

Victoria got up from the bed. "I'm going to make us some tea and then we can finish that episode of 'Midsomer Murders'."

* * *

The purple eyes bothered Dean more than he cared to admit. He was used to seeing a lot of weird crap, even crap with his family, but those eyes scared him. Dean Winchester needed answers.

"Kay, uh, Zeke. I need some answers. About Tor, so if you could you know, help, that'd be great."

Dean turned around to find Ezekiel sitting at the table behind him.

"You gave me a nickname. No one has ever given me a nickname."

"It's my thing."

"For Victoria's sake, I will bear it. However, let it be stated, nicknames are not 'my thing.'"

Dean rolled his eyes and sat across from Ezekiel.

* * *

Victoria was on her way to the kitchen when she heard her Guardian, and she stopped to listen.

* * *

"I cannot explain that phenomenon, Dean, I apologize for my lack of knowledge in this matter."

"Doesn't it worry you a little, Zeke?"

"Yes, it does concern me. I have been a guardian for several thousand years and have not seen any Chosen Ones exhibit 'purple eyes.'"

Both men stood when Victoria entered the room.

"You called Ezekiel about me? Why didn't you simply ask me?"

"I didn't think you'd know why your eyes went all whatever the hell that was."

"Good evening, Victoria."

Victoria looked at her angel and couldn't decide if she was miffed at him as well as Dean.

"I'm fairly certain I know why."

Victoria looked at Ezekiel, and then to Dean. Her eyes rested on the ground when she began to speak. "I lost my self-control. We were able to get to Sam, and that should have been all that mattered. Like you told me Dean, after Aristede appeared I should have smote her and left. When I saw in that thing's mind what it did to Sam, I couldn't leave it at that. Death was too easy."

Victoria ran her hand through her hair and continued, "I knew you and Sam were safe, and I wanted you to stay that way. As soon as I wanted that, the door closed, and I knew you two would stay on the other side of it. I hated that demon. I let hatred become an entity, a being, I let Hatred possess me. It fueled everything I did to Aristede. I boiled the blood inside her veins. I enjoyed her screams and her pain. My hatred was fueled by it. I then dissolved her organs, one by one, as if with acid. Again, my hatred was fueled. Finally, I set fire to her brain, while she was still very much alive. That was what killed the demon. After that the Hatred subsided and I more or less realized what I did. That was when the door opened and y'all came in."

Victoria summoned up the courage to look at Dean and her angel. They both looked shocked and slightly horrified.

"You both have every right to look at me like that. When I had my wits about me again, I had every intention of leaving. I thought Jack would be better off without me. Who needs an Aunt who enjoys boiling a creature's blood? Especially a boy who will have far greater power than me one day. I thought he would be better off with y'all raising him. He would be good that way. I had my bag and was leaving when I heard you and Sam talking in his room. I heard my name and stopped, I listened, without even really meaning to."

Victoria looked at Dean and he saw the slightest bit of tears in her eyes.

"I heard Sam say that he hoped he hadn't changed me. He hoped I wouldn't leave because of this. He was worried about me, in spite of everything that happened to him. I heard him say that he needed me, that he cared for me more than he ever thought he could, that he hoped he hadn't changed me. Not because he cared if I had changed, but he didn't want me to be upset with myself because of him. I couldn't leave, not knowing Sam would think my lapse of sanity was his fault."

Victoria wiped at her eyes with her oversized sweatshirt. "He's so good, I now know I would never do anything to hurt him."

She looked at Ezekiel. "I think you knew what would happen if I ever met Sam. You could say it was for my protection, or for your own selfish reasons, and those might be partly true. But you also somehow knew that I would burn through worlds to save Sam Winchester."

Ezekiel looked at the ground for a moment before raising his eyes to once again meet hers.

Dean looked at the angel, "Zeke?"

"I had an idea, yes. Although you're not exactly soul mates, your souls are compatible. It's as if the broken pieces almost form together, like a puzzle. When two beings are bonded in such a manner, it can be deadly even with two normal humans. With your abilities, I knew it had the potential to be catastrophic."

Victoria looked at Dean. "It takes every single ounce of my courage to say this, even to you, and I most certainly could not say it to him, not now. I am in love with your brother. And no, it may not be in the most traditional sense, but I don't care. As long as he chooses to want me, and as long as I choose to love him, I'm here. I can't promise that hatred or fear will not get the best of me again. All I can promise you is that I will try to not allow that. I will practice self-control to the best of my ability. I will work with Castiel in doing so. I was willing to leave if it made Sam better, but after hearing him talk to you, I realized that was not how he felt. I don't want to leave, Dean. I've never felt so many emotions. They're overwhelming, and they scare the hell out of me. They're not just for Sam, but for all of you. I'm going to have to learn to control them. I know I can."

Dean stepped towards her and pulled her to him for a hug. At first she felt suffocated, but she was able to overcome that feeling. She allowed herself to be comforted by him, as that was his intent.

When they broke apart she looked at Ezekiel. "I promise I won't set the world on fire, you taught me too well for that."

"Ah, Victoria, you are underestimating yourself once more. I did not teach you too well for that, you are too good for that."

He kissed her on the forehead before flying away.

Sam walked into the room, looking confused. "Was that Ezekiel? Are you okay?"

Victoria nodded, "Yes it was, and yes, I am."

* * *

Dean was finishing up the last of the bacon when Victoria and Sam came into the kitchen.

"Seriously Dean?"

Dean shrugged. "It's nine o'clock."

"Was the bacon going to spoil at nine o one?" Victoria handed Sam the mug of coffee she just poured him.

"Maybe."

Castiel flew in and handed a package to Victoria. "This was at your apartment. I brought your car back as well."

Victoria set her mug on the counter and began to open the package. "Thank you Castiel."

The package contained four passports, four driver's licenses, and several other types of paperwork. Victoria smiled as she glanced through them.

She handed Sam a license and a passport. "Mister Samuel Winchester. You sir, are a completely legal person once more. Spotless record, and very much alive."

"Tor, how did you…?"

"That CIA case was a rather big deal. The agent I worked with told me to call if I ever needed anything. Turns out I did need some things."

Victoria handed Dean his, and then gave Castiel his. Cas opened the passport and looked at the name. "Castiel Winchester?"

Victoria smiled. "Seemed appropriate. Sam and Dean refer to you as their 'brother', so it only made sense." Cas quickly hugged her, almost making her drop the other papers in her hand.

"Those are Mary's, and these" she handed Dean some papers, "Are Baby's registration, insurance, and everything else to make her legal."

Dean took the papers as if they would break. "Tor, this is amazing."

"Birth certificates, and social security cards are in here too, but I'm going to give those to your mom for safe keeping."

"We're not kids."

Victoria raised her eyebrow at Dean.

"Yeah, you better give them to Mom."

Dean and Cas left the kitchen and Sam just kept staring at his new passport and license.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Victoria inquired as she opened the fridge.

"Tor, these, this, what you did for us, I can't even begin to…"

Victoria interrupted him. "It's just paper, Sam."

"But it's not, and you know it's not. You gave us the chance to start a whole new life if we wanted."

Victoria closed the fridge door and looked at him. "Yes, if that is what you want to do, you have that opportunity. You once again have the freedom to be anything you want to be. But I know that you are going to be Sam Winchester. Just like it says on that new license. So, what would Sam Winchester like for breakfast?"

* * *

Victoria Doyle decided to spend the day with her car. It needed an oil change anyway, and it always benefited from a good waxing. She enjoyed cleaning the rims and spraying the tires with foam that always made them look wet. She took great pride in her car. Working on it always made her feel peaceful.

She had just finished replacing the oil pan when she detected a presence. She slid out from under the car to see who had joined her.

"Hey Vicky."

Elizabeth was holding her swollen belly. She sat in the only chair available in the garage.

"Hey Lizzie."

"I am ever so impressed that you can change your own oil."

"I think you've gotten more country since we've been together."

Elizabeth laughed. "Maybe. But you've lost almost all your country. Although you let it slip around your boy sometimes."

Victoria began to open the quarts of oil. "Sam is not 'my boy'."

"He most certainly is. I've seen the way y'all look at each other, and that is not just friendly looking."

"We care very deeply for one another." Victoria wiped off a funnel with a shop towel before using it.

"Vicky, I know we haven't been very close, and I know that's my fault, but we're still sisters, and I can see that you are head over heels in love with him."

"I am very fond of him."

"You know, when Castiel told us Sam had been kidnapped, my first thought was of you. I knew there'd be hell to pay for anything stupid enough to take him away from you."

Victoria looked at her sister. "Lizzie, I…"

"Don't feel bad about it Vicky, that's how it's supposed to be. I know how you are about love and romance, and all that. And I know you don't like any of the touching stuff."

That wasn't a completely accurate description, but Victoria let it go, considering her sister was trying to understand her, and that's all she ever really wanted.

"But love isn't all about just sex. I mean, there's so much more. There is romance sometimes, but mainly, it's just about finding someone who completely changes you for the better. And Sam is that person for you Vicky."

Victoria replaced the cap on her oil tank. "I do agree that I have changed. However, I think it is from the entire family, not just Sam."

"Mainly Sam. And I can see why. Y'all complement each other in the best ways. I think it's downright adorable, and I only wish I could be here to see how the rest of it plays out."

Victoria closed the hood of her car and walked towards her sister.

"Lizzie, I am so, so sorry this happened to you. If I had only told you what was out there, what could happen…"

"I never would have believed you, and probably tried to have you committed."

Victoria smirked. "I should've tried, regardless."

"I'm not delusional, Vicky. I know full well I was a complete bitch to you growing up. And really even as adults. I was always holier than thou. And you were the one chosen by God to make the world a better place."

"A person doesn't have to be chosen to make the world better. Plenty of regular humans do a really good job of it."

"Well, that's true. But you are special."

Elizabeth took her sister's hands into her own. "You're gonna raise this baby of mine with that boy of yours. He's gonna be kind, sweet, generous, and strong. Because his Aunt and Uncle are gonna raise him that way. And I can go to heaven knowing that if anything dares to touch him his Aunt with make that thing suffer."

"I'm afraid you're right."

"Don't be afraid of it Vicky. What you've got is a God-given power. You have every right to use it to protect those you love."

"Lizzie, I'm sorry for the way our lives have been. We could have been so much more."

"Well, we still got a little time. I hope we both can make the best of it. I love you, sister of mine."

Victoria wrapped her arms around her sister's neck. For the second time that day she used the word that had so long eluded her. "I love you too Lizzie."

Dean's voice rang throughout the bunker. "Son of a bitch!"

Elizabeth and Victoria had to end their moment to go investigate.

* * *

The King of Hell was sitting at the table with Dean and Cas glaring at him. Sam was sitting across from Crowley, Elizabeth went to sit next to him. Tor stood next to Dean.

"He did something stupid?"

Dean turned his glare to her. "Yup. Lucifer's out."

Victoria rubbed her temples. "He has a vessel?"

Elizabeth's hands unconsciously went to her stomach.

"Crowley provided him with his old one."

"What?"

"You see love, I wanted him to suffer as he made me suffer. So, I implemented what I thought to be a fool proof plan. Unfortunately, he still had minions in hell who did his bidding."

"Well, we just have to actually get him back to the cage this time. We need Rowena."

"He's already killed Mother."

Victoria sat down in the other chair next to Sam. He smiled slightly at her, and she lightly placed her hand on top of his.

"So we kill him."

"That is a highly improbable scenario. He is at full power."

Victoria looked at the angel. "So we hide?"

"For now, until Jack is born, I think that would be the best course of action. He knows our current location, and it is only a matter of time before he comes here."

Victoria could feel Sam tense up.

"All right, we hide. The kid gets born, and we go back to Tor's idea of killing the bastard."

Everyone agreed with Dean.


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: Thank you so much to all who are reading! It is very appreciated! I hope you are enjoying this tale!_

_**Thank you so much to the followers and those who favorited this story! I would love to hear from y'all! And thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! They mean so much as I write this tale.**_

_This is the end of Part 1, Part 2 is currently being written so updates will follow very soon. _

_I would love to hear from y'all about any directions you would like this tale to take or any ideas you may want to see in future chapters. Thank you so much for reading!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other books / movies / TV shows / and/or songs that may be referenced in this story. _

Chapter 25

A nice house with a picket fence

"One of your FBI friends is going to let us stay here for nothing?" Dean asked as he dropped his bag in the entryway.

"I don't know if I would call Agent Moss a friend exactly. We more or less clicked based upon our general dislike of everything."

Dean shrugged as he went to investigate the rest of the house.

Sam shook his head with amusement before looking at Tor. "Umm, do you want to stay in the same room with me, or do you want to stay by yourself, or?"

Victoria stopped him by shoving her bag into his chest. "Find the biggest room and stake a claim for both of us. I'm going to start the warding."

Sam smiled as he followed his instructions.

* * *

Victoria wondered just how upset Agent Moss would be over the graffiti in his safe house.

"Victoria?"

Mary just got done spraying a sigil and decided it would be a good time to talk.

"Yes?"

"I don't really know how to begin this, I haven't been back in my boys' lives for long, but I can tell that Sam really cares for you."

"And I him."

"Victoria, Sam has been through a lot, if you think that maybe you aren't completely in this, you should tell him."

Victoria stopped painting to look at Mary. She could see concern in her eyes, and maybe even a bit of fear.

"Mary, I have seen loss, pain, and grief. For a while, those were the only emotions I was accustomed to. Not necessarily on my own account, but with others. Your family showed me there was more. There is caring, concern. When Sam was missing, I lost all sense of who I was. Who I worked so hard to become. I became nothing but a dangerous emotion. When I learned Sam still wanted me after that, I knew I was completely in this. He knows everything about me, and chooses to need me in spite of it. So, there should be no concern on your part about my feelings regarding Sam."

"I didn't mean to pry, I just am at a loss at times. They were children in heaven, and now they're full grown men and I missed all of that."

"You did. Sam was always fortunate to have Dean. He was everything to him. And now Dean has Castiel. A person cannot have a stronger protector than an Angel."

Mary's gaze fell to the floor. Victoria realized she didn't say the right thing.

"Your death was only caused by your interference. You were trying to save your son. That is admirable. Whether they are children or full grown men, they still need their mother. Time doesn't matter, relationships matter."

Victoria wasn't quite sure she believed that, but it sounded good.

"Whatever you and Sam are, I'm glad you're in his life. He's better with you."

Victoria smiled. "I'm better with him. I struggled a great deal of my life with defining things, making perimeters, hoping to fit within them. I never did. It took a great deal of time for me to realize that not fitting within any certain box is perfectly okay. I am me. I save people, I kill monsters, I'm incredibly intelligent, and I'm much happier in the presence of one Sam Winchester." Victoria finished painting her sigil, smiled at Mary, and went to go find her best friend.

* * *

"Fish do not speak Dean, and even if they could, one fish would not be able to converse with another species of fish just by saying they can speak 'whale'."

Dean turned the television off angrily. "All right Cas, we were just trying to watch a family-friendly movie about a fish. But I guess we can't."

Victoria and Sam smiled at each other as they were playing Scrabble on Sam's iPad.

Elizabeth was quietly reading fairy tales to her unborn baby in the corner of the room by the fireplace. She chose ones with heroes who saved princesses and slayed dragons.

Mary was curled up in a chair reading a novel she had never gotten around to. She had a cup of tea in one hand, sipping it between pages.

It was nice.

It was peaceful.

It was the calm before the storm.

* * *

Victoria first noticed it when she was looking out the window over the sink while drinking her first morning cup of coffee.

The previous night had not been a good one. She heard Aristede's screams every time she closed her eyes. Sam's presence helped, but even his brightness couldn't break through the dark. She knew what she wanted, what she felt she needed, to make the screams stop. But she knew she couldn't. She wouldn't.

Victoria cautiously approached what looked like still lightning. She placed her hand to it, and was surprised when her hand disappeared. She became more adventurous and stepped into it. Her foot disappeared. No pain, just like a doorway. She shrugged her shoulders and stepped completely through.

The view was bleak. Everything was gray, as if the world had lost its color. She looked behind her to make sure the doorway was still there.

A creature she had never seen before came running towards her. Its thoughts were jumbled, screaming, and incoherent. She put her hand up out of instinct and the thing fell down, smoking, and dead.

Two men were approaching her. Victoria braced herself, ready to fight. The men were armed to the hilt. Victoria felt her Kimber in her pocket and placed her hand on it, ready to draw if the opportunity presented itself.

"You're not a halo." The taller one said as he pulled down his hood.

"No, she's not, but she ain't human either." The one with the beard said as he got closer to her.

Victoria was unsure of what to do. She didn't like harming humans, unless absolutely necessary.

"My name is Victoria Doyle. I am a Chosen One. I do not know if you have those here. However, I can assure you I mean you no harm. Are you hunters?"

The two men looked at each other and put down their guns.

"I guess you could say that." The taller one looked at her. "I'm Rufus. And what the hell do you mean by here?"

Victoria gestured behind her. "That light is a sort of doorway. Between our two worlds. I am not from here."

The bearded one looked at the light. "A doorway huh? I'm Bobby."

Victoria nodded. "Yes, it appeared in my backyard, and me being me, I walked through it."

Victoria turned as Castiel appeared behind her.

"He's a halo." Bobby lifted his gun up.

Victoria shielded Castiel. "He's a friend."

Castiel turned his head. "Bobby?"

"How does he know my name?"

Victoria looked at him.

"You existed in my world. As did your friend, Rufus. What happened here? Are Sam and Dean here? Mary or John Winchester?"

* * *

As Castiel and Victoria stepped back into their world, they had a plan.

Dean talked with a bite of pie in his mouth. "So, we trap his ass in this Apocalypse world and let the suped up supes have at 'em?"

Sam looked slightly troubled. "What about the humans over there? Apocalypse Bobby and Rufus?"

Victoria looked at Castiel. He sadly smiled before answering Sam's question. "We gave them the option of coming over here before we trapped Lucifer. They refused. They still believe there is hope for their world, and they believe they are the only means for that hope. Michael defeated Lucifer in that world, and I have no doubt he will do so again."

"So, we're sending him to his death?"

Cas looked at Dean. "Essentially."

"Awesome."

* * *

"Vicky, you think this will work?"

"I'm pretty sure. Once Jack is born that rift should close."

"So, he's almost here then, and you won't be able to be here for it."

Victoria sat next to her sister on the bed.

"I can't be Lizzie. Dean thinks I can channel the feelings I had that day I did what I did to that demon. He thinks I can send Lucifer through if the other plan doesn't work."

"I understand."

"Lizzie, Mary will be here with you."

"I know, and she's so sweet, but you're my sister. And this is so scary. I've tried to be so strong. But I'm gonna die, Vicky."

Victoria took her sister's hands in her own. They were cold, and trembling.

"I asked Castiel about Heaven. He told me that each soul generates its own perfect place. You'll be with your family, Lizzie. You'll be happy. Ezekiel will be there, and he can tell you how we're doing." Victoria didn't blink for fear of tears. "You will be in paradise."

"Promise me something."

"Of course."

"Promise me that you'll be happy. That you'll do everything you can to enjoy your life. I know you have responsibilities, and Chosen One things to do, but please be as happy as you possibly can."

Victoria allowed the tears to escape. "I promise."

"And that you'll tell my son how much I love him. How good he is, and how I know the world will be a much better place because he's in it."

"Every day."

"I love you Vicky. I'm so sorry for everything in our lives. For Mama and Daddy, and me. I am just so sorry."

"There is no need to apologize Elizabeth. I promise you, none of it matters."

"You forgive me?"

"Without your even asking."

"I love you."

Victoria helped her sister lay back on the bed. "Get some rest Lizzie." Victoria kissed her on the forehead before whispering, "I love you too."

* * *

"You know of course that Moose and Squirrel will be angry with you for this."

Victoria looked the demon in the eyes. "I'm fully aware, yes."

"And you want to do it anyway?"

"Would I have contacted you otherwise?"

"I think I like you even more now."

"My life's ambition. The soul you are to sacrifice?"

"Ah yes, one of the traitors who so easily sided with Lucifer."

"I don't care as long as it's not human."

Ezekiel appeared beside Victoria. "Are we really to work with him?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He's somewhat powerful, and Lucifer hates him. He makes good bait."

"You know love, you could offend me."

"I. Don't. Care."

"Do you have an estimated time of his arrival?"

"I can sense him, it's strange and unsettling. No less than an hour. Both of you be there in forty five minutes. I'll seal the house."

"Are you sure that wasn't just a one hit wonder?"

Victoria flashed lavender eyes at him. "I'm positive."

* * *

"Tor, where the hell were you? Liz is in some serious pain in there."

"I bought you some beer." Victoria held the six pack up to Dean.

"You're forgiven." Dean took a swig before continuing. "Any idea when the kid's Dad will be here?"

"I'm not sensing anything, so I think we have a while yet."

Sam looked at Victoria quizzically. She smiled slightly at him.

"Is Castiel with Lizzie?"

Dean nodded. "And Mom. But Cas will come out as soon as we need him."

Sam walked over to Victoria. "Tor, you okay?"

"No, not really."

"I get that, I do, but usually when we're about to do something this big, you are a little more…"

Dean interrupted, "Pumped?"

Sam shrugged, "Maybe? Although I don't think that's the right word."

Victoria smiled. "I think there's a good chance we might actually die this time. A Nephilim being born, a rift between two worlds, Lucifer. There are too many variables. Too much danger. And here's the thing. That child being born at this moment has so much potential. Well, all children do. But this one has potential and power. He is going to be amazing."

Victoria was not impressed by how her tear ducts were acting these days. "Sam, you and your brother have saved the world countless times. It's as if you quite literally have the weight of the world on your shoulders. You have sacrificed everything numerous times in order to just keep going."

"It's what we do."

Tor looked at Dean. "It shouldn't be what you have to do. It's what I have to do."

"You help us now Tor, we're all doing it together."

Victoria looked at Sam and smiled sadly.

"You are an amazing man, Sam Winchester."

Victoria Doyle went out the front door and closed it behind her. She knew they would be unable to open it until it was all over.

* * *

"What was that about?"

"I don't know."

"Well, she's your girlfriend."

Sam just looked at his brother with an exasperated face.

* * *

He was waiting in a swing that was tied onto an oak tree in the backyard. "You know, you made it kind of hard to find you. But, I was smart. Looked into weird events, saw power outages all over this area, and pinpointed this house. Nice place to raise a kid, but not my kid."

Without saying a word Victoria walked towards the rift. As she expected he would, Lucifer followed.

"I'm talking to you, by the way. Can't you hear me?"

Victoria smiled as she kept walking.

Victoria walked through the rift and saw Crowley and Ezekiel waiting on her. There were multiple bodies of the odd supernaturals laying around them.

Lucifer came through the doorway and looked at the trio.

"Well, this is a welcome change. Not a flannel or trench coat in sight."

He looked at Ezekiel, "Hello, little brother."

"Lucifer."

"So, why are we having the party over here? Shouldn't you be over there trying to kill me?"

"We realize that we cannot kill you."

"Oh. So, you and your low level demon and angel here plan on trapping me over here? Yeah, won't work. Where are Sam and Dean anyway? They're so fun to play with."

"They're safe."

"Oh, so you pulled a fast one and locked them somewhere. Nice. Too bad you're gonna be too dead for them to be mad at you."

Lucifer shrugged as he snapped his fingers. Nothing happened so he snapped them harder. "Do my powers not work over here? Well, I just have to go back then don't I?"

Victoria's eyes flashed purple as she was able to keep him from moving. Lucifer's eyes turned red as he kept trying to move. Ezekiel took Victoria's gun and began shooting Lucifer with the ammunition Bobby and Rufus made from Angel Blades. They barely fazed him, but between that and Victoria's powers they were keeping him at bay.

Ezekiel shouted at he changed clips, "Now, Crowley!"

Crowley slit the throat of the demon.

Ezekiel kept shooting at Lucifer. "Victoria, go!"

"I'm not going to leave you!"

"Go!"

Victoria did not turn away from Lucifer, but kept her hold until she backed through the rift. She was very much relieved when Ezekiel emerged moments later.

Crowley was checking his suit for any dead demon remains. "Glad to see you made it back Angel."

"I am only working with you for Victoria's sake. I would have smote you on sight if not for her."

"You angels and your flirting, what is a boy to do?"

Ezekiel simply stared.

As the rift was getting smaller the three were horrified to see a bloody Lucifer slowly crawling towards them.

"If you think the three of you could get rid of me that easily, you have another think coming. Breaking news, I'm not going to stay over there. It's creepy. So now, where's my son?"

Victoria felt the 'snap' she felt that night with Aristede.

"His name is Jack, and you will never touch him."

"And who's gonna stop me, Chosen One?"

Lucifer had every intention of ripping out her heart. It was easy, he had done it countless times before. It was like grabbing air really.

Victoria knew what he intended. She grabbed his fist, surprising him. With all the force she could muster she pushed him backward. With Ezekiel pushing one of his shoulders, and Crowley pushing the other he fell into the rift. With a bright light emitting from the house, the rift closed, and everyone was alive.

* * *

Victoria ran up to the house and flung open the front door. Sam and Dean immediately stood and looked at her. Dean was full of anger, Sam was full of pain.

Victoria put her arms around Sam and put her face against his chest. "I am so, so sorry. I had to have you safe."

"You can't pull that crap, Tor. We had a plan. Then you go and ruin it by…" Dean stopped when he saw his brother rest his head on top of Victoria's. "Son of a bitch."

Victoria couldn't let him go. She felt guilt for what she did, but she also felt joy Sam was alive. He was never in danger. He didn't have to face Lucifer, he didn't have to relive the mental anguish that he was put through. She did feel remorse for leaving Sam out, but it couldn't compare to the pure elation she felt that he was alive.

She stayed in his arms, listening to his heartbeat, she listened to it slowly go down. She only pulled away when it was in rhythm with hers.

"He's gone."

"You're sure?"

"He went through and the rift closed. Sam, he's gone." Victoria smiled so big her face hurt.

Sam almost couldn't believe it. He saw how happy she was and knew it was true. "He's gone."

Victoria turned to Dean. "Dean, I apologize for not telling you of my plans. I know that trust is a big issue with you. I wanted you to be safe for once. Also, the selfish side of me didn't want to lose you."

"We could've lost you Tor. Or Zeke, or Crowley."

Victoria nodded. "Yes, but Sam was safe. You, Castiel, Mary, and Jack were safe. I apologize for not telling you of my plans, but I will not apologize for keeping you safe. That's what you've done your whole life, Dean. It was my turn to do that for you."

"Sam was a mess the whole time we were locked in here. I want you to know that."

"Dean."

"No Sam. She's family. And family needs to know how they impact the rest of the family. We thought you were dead. Or dying. Hell, it's the Devil, so we didn't really know what was happening to you. We'll work through this, just like we always do. But what you did was crappy. You tell us everything from now on. Everything. Sometimes we'll listen, sometimes we won't. But we will always get through it. We'll always figure it out. Together."

Victoria nodded. "Okay."

"Because here's the deal. As much as you care for us, we care for you. You weren't safe, and we knew that. And we were stuck in here, not being able to do a damn thing about that. Never again Tor."

"I understand Dean. I'm sorry."

"Good, now come here." Dean pulled her to him for a hug.

Victoria found it odd that she hugged Dean more, but it meant more with Sam. Feelings.

Castiel and Mary walked down the hallway with a teenage-looking boy wrapped in a towel.

"Dean, Sam, Victoria, this is Jack." The boy waved as Castiel introduced him.

Dean scratched his face. "I guess we'll have to return the diapers."


	26. Part 2: Chapter 1

_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who is reading! I would love to hear from you guys!_

_This chapter is extremely light, it is mainly happy filler and family bonding. No cliff hangers in sight! Next chapter will be back to the typical Winchester angst. _

_Thank you so, so much for getting to Part 2 of this tale with me! I cannot thank you all enough!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movies, books, TV shows, and/or music referenced in this story._

Chapter 1

Here's Jack!

"I don't think I saved the receipts Dean."

Dean rolled his eyes at his best friend.

Victoria looked at her nephew. He was, well, he was adorable. She noted he looked quite a bit like Castiel's vessel, with her sister's hair. She assumed the resemblance was due to the fact that Jack chose Castiel for his father, and no one would have any trouble believing that.

"Hello Jack."

"Hi Aunt Victoria! And Uncle Sam. And Dean."

Sam was not expecting the "Uncle" but he decided to go with it. Stranger things had happened to him than being the Uncle to a teenager in minutes.

"Hey Jack."

"All right kid, uh, your Aunt and Uncle here are going to get you some clothes. Mom, maybe he's hungry?" Dean was good at taking charge, he motioned Cas over to him once Jack and Mary were out of earshot. "We need to take care of Elizabeth." He spoke quietly. Cas nodded in understanding.

Victoria was absentmindedly driving to the closest department store. She couldn't find words, not even for Sam.

"What was he, like five ten?"

Victoria looked at Sam. "I think so. He was a couple inches shorter than Castiel. And he is six feet?"

"I guess. Yeah, because he's a couple inches shorter than Dean, who is a couple inches shorter than me, and I'm six four."

"A newborn onesie would have been so much easier."

"Why do you think he's a teenager already?"

"I assume it is for protection. Jack will draw attention quickly. Even with our combined skills and Ezekiel attempting to keep the angels at bay and Crowley the demons, we're going to have a lot to contend with."

"So, he didn't get to be a kid, not even for a day." Sam looked out the window.

"We will teach him to defend himself of course, but I don't see a reason to make him hunt unless he wants to. He can still be a teenager, can he not?"

"Yeah. We can uh, let him be as much of a kid as he can be."

* * *

Victoria had to practically tear Sam away from the flannels.

"We don't need to mold his style. Let's stick with as plain of clothes as possible and let him decide later."

"What about for a jacket?"

"Just a jacket, Sam, no designs!"

Sam was holding onto jeans, pajamas, and several t-shirts. Due to weather Victoria also got him some plain long sleeve shirts and a couple jackets. She pretended not to notice when Sam grabbed one flannel. She owed him one for not saying anything when she picked out a t-shirt with the periodic table of elements on it.

"He needs electronics too right? I mean, I'd be lost without my phone, and you without your laptop."

"Yes, right, electronics."

Sam and Victoria may have gone a bit overboard, but neither one of them had a nephew before, and well, they felt they needed to somewhat make up for a lost childhood.

"Books?"

"We have a lot of research books back at the bunker."

"Right, but what about book books? Like good books you get lost in?"

"Books."

* * *

Four stores later, Sam and Victoria made it back to the safe house.

Dean was not impressed with the amount of stuff they bought. "I sent you out for some clothes, and you come back with friggin' Target?"

"He needs things, Dean."

Dean looked at Tor and furrowed his brow. He could tell he was going to have to take the role of the strict parent in this situation. "By the way, the kid eats a lot. It's like he's two humans and no angel. So, we're gonna have to budget for that." Dean Winchester never thought he would say 'budget' in the entirety of his life. "So you're gonna have to pick up cases Auntie." He took the bag of clothes from Sam and marched back into the house.

"I think I got in trouble." Victoria looked at Sam.

"He gets like that. He's fine." Sam handed her a couple of the bags before he closed the door.

* * *

Victoria watched as Sam was teaching Jack how to use his laptop, phone, and tablet. The child was incredibly intelligent and picked up on things almost instantly. She smiled as she looked at the chemistry t-shirt he chose to wear. As Sam was programming all their numbers into Jack's phone, the boy came to sit by her.

"Uncle Sam's mom made me burgers, I think they're my favorite. But then I had pie, and that was also my favorite."

"You can have more than one favorite. You can have a favorite type of burger, and a favorite type of pie."

"But only one favorite type of food?"

"Well, that's typically how it works. But there is not one person in this house who does well with limitations."

Jack smiled, and Victoria wanted nothing more than to protect that innocence.

"Dad said that everyone here is special, like me. But most people aren't special like we are and we have to hide what we can do in front of them, unless we're saving them."

"Yes, he is right. However, we can have fairly normal-ish lives."

"I know what I am Aunt Victoria. Its okay, I'm happy. My mom said everyone here would protect me, and teach me how to use my powers."

"Yes, Jack, we will protect you. And we will teach you as many things as we can. Some will be about your powers, some will be about being a good citizen, and some will be about making the world a better place. We are all here for you."

Jack wrapped his arms around his Aunt. She held onto him tightly and lamented all the things he already lost. She kissed the top of his head as Sam was walking over to hand him his phone.

"All of our phone numbers and emails are in here. Cas is your emergency contact. If anything ever goes wrong call him first."

Jack smiled at Sam. "Thank you Uncle Sam."

Jack took his new gadgets and went to his room.

"Did you put parental controls on his devices?"

Sam looked at Victoria, "Of course. We're responsible right?"

"Yes. He'll be okay, right?"

"He'll be great."

* * *

Victoria was awakened by a presence standing over her. Startled, she sat straight up. Sam had his gun in one hand and was covering Victoria with his free arm. He put his gun back on the nightstand when he saw it was Jack.

"I wanted to show you something I discovered on this iPad." He sat down next to Victoria, causing her to scoot closer to Sam. At this point they were all three leaning against the headboard.

Jack was on YouTube. He hit the red 'play' button and a black and white kitty started meowing and swatting a yarn ball. "Can we get one? Dad said I had to ask you."

"I didn't mean right now, Jack." Castiel appeared in the doorway. "I am sorry, apparently Jack does not require much sleep, and I thought I should show him other creations."

"Cas, you wanted to watch cat videos."

"And I may have wanted to watch cat videos."

Victoria Doyle wondered just how her life got to the point where it teetered between a sitcom and horror film.

"Can we get one?"

Victoria looked at Sam and then her nephew. "Well, pets take a lot of care, and time."

"But they teach responsibility."

Victoria looked accusingly at Sam.

Sam shrugged and smiled. "But, we should probably get a cat and a dog, to teach Jack about different types of responsibility."

Jack started to type in 'Cute dog videos' in the search bar.

"Yes, that's true. However, if we were to get a pet, a cat would probably be a better idea because we're away a great deal of the time, and cats are more self-sufficient than dogs."

"I did always think we were one species short."

Victoria looked at Castiel and honestly couldn't believe she was having this conversation with an angel and one of the most terrifying hunters in the world.

Victoria turned her attention back towards her nephew. "Jack, I think we should probably discuss this in the morning. We have other people that we live with, and we have to consider them as well."

"Okay Aunt Victoria." Jack gave her a quick hug before bouncing off the bed and out of the room.

Before he could be chided Cas put both his hands up as if to say, 'I know' turned around and closed the door behind him.

"Maybe a Golden Retriever?"

"You were the complete opposite of helpful in that situation."

"I like dogs."

"So do I Sam, but it's not very practical is it?"

"What if it was Tor, I mean one day?"

Victoria scooted back over to her side of the bed and looked at Sam. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Jack is going to make everything better, right? He's practically already grown, so that whole fixing the world thing shouldn't be too far off. We could have a dog, a house, and jobs. Careers. I could be a lawyer, and you could be a chemist. Dean could own a garage. Cas could teach Religious Studies at some college. We'd live like two houses down from each other. Jack could stay wherever he wanted, he'd go to school, have a life."

"You would want all that with me?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Sam, I'm not going to change and suddenly become someone I'm not just because all the supernaturals are gone."

"Tor, I know that. I wouldn't expect you too. I like you just the way you are. Look, before I knew I needed you, I knew who you were. I don't care. I want you because of who you are, not in spite of it."

"Sam, I…"

"You know everything about me. Everything. And you choose to still want me. I've done horrible things, Tor. And you don't care. There's no difference. So stop thinking you're not the girl for me just because you weren't the girl for anyone else. I don't care who doesn't get it or who doesn't understand. I need you no matter if we're hunting werewolves or helping Jack write college essays."

"I need you too."

Victoria suddenly giggled.

Sam looked at her inquisitively.

"Can you imagine Castiel's poor students?"

Sam started to laugh. "Yeah, that would be interesting to watch."

"He would most definitely say 'My Father' instead of God."

"And probably refer to the other angels as 'brothers and sisters'."

"Definitely."

Victoria reached over to turn off the light Jack left on. "Good night Sam Winchester."

"Good night Victoria Doyle."


	27. Part 2: Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you for reading this tale! I hope you are enjoying it!_

_**Thank you so, so much for the reviews! They are wonderful to read, and I appreciate them so much! They make writing this story so rewarding! I love hearing from y'all!**_

_Chapter Warnings: Okay, so this chapter is far darker than the previous one, there's some violence and grandstanding. I promise we will have some more filler scenes in this tale, however! Please let me know if there is anything in particular you guys would like to see!_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV shows / movies / books/ and/or songs referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 2

And though he be but young…

Sam, Victoria, and Jack rode in her car while Dean, Cas, and Mary took Dean's.

Victoria had never seen anyone as happy on a car ride as Jack was. It was refreshing to watch someone experience everything as new. He continually named things as they passed them. She also enjoyed watching Sam watch Jack. He seemed genuinely happy. She relished that look on him.

Victoria shared Dean's love of state highways. They were scenic, and less travelled by the general public. Victoria became suspicious when the same car had been following them at a relatively far distance for the past fifty miles.

She listened intently.

"We have company."

Sam looked at her inquisitively.

"Angels, behind us. Four."

"I'll call Dean."

Victoria knew they wanted Jack. She could hear them, yes, but she also just knew. Sam handed her the phone.

"How do you want to play this Tor?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Yeah, you probably already know."

"I want Jack safe."

"Cas can take him to the bunker."

"Yes."

As soon as the word left her mouth, Castiel was in her back seat next to Jack.

"Do you want me to return?"

Victoria handed the phone to Castiel.

"Yes, Dean, I understand."

Castiel handed the phone back to Sam. "Dean wants me to take Jack to the bunker, get Mary, and then stay with them both there, just in case."

Victoria and Sam nodded. Castiel and Jack disappeared in her rearview mirror.

"Dean, Cas is beeping in, hold on."

"Hey Cas." Sam paused, then handed the phone to Victoria.

"Aunt Victoria?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"I can help."

Victoria fought back tears. "And you will. Just not today. For today, you are going to be protected. For today, you are going to be safe. For today, you are going to let the grown-ups surrounding you take care of you, that's what we're here for. Castiel and I both promised your mother that no harm would come to you. I intend to keep that promise. You will one day without a doubt help, but today is not that day."

"You will come back here?"

"I have every intention of doing so."

"Please."

Victoria handed the phone back to Sam.

Sam eyed her suspiciously.

"What?"

"That was… dramatic."

Victoria smirked. Leave it to Sam to make her smile in a less than desirable situation.

"Says the man who burns a whole book of matches."

Sam smiled slightly as he licked his lips. He was nervous, yes, Angels, even ones with broken wings were a tough adversary. But he somehow knew, deep down, in a part of him that usually hid, that this time everything would be okay.

"Call your brother and tell him to stop."

* * *

The trio leaned against the Mustang waiting for the angels' car to arrive.

Dean and Sam's guns were holding rounds of Victoria's special ammunition.

Victoria faintly heard more angels behind her. She turned around to see another car approaching with four more. Sam and Dean followed her eyes.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Dean, Castiel can come and take you and Sam to the bunker."

"Tor, we're not leaving you alone with eight angels."

Victoria looked at Sam. "They do not want me. You know that. Jack needs the two of you."

"He needs you too."

Dean pulled the slide back on his gun. "We're not leaving."

Victoria both admired and abhorred their stubbornness.

The two oncoming cars parked and all the angels began to surround them, angel blades by their sides.

"Where is he?"

Dean looked at the one who made himself the leader. "Not here."

The angel glowered at Dean.

"You cannot have him. Not now, not ever. Here's the thing so many of you fail to understand: he is his own self. What he chooses to do has nothing to do with any of you. It has nothing to do with his father, or his mother. You cannot kill him. You will not kill him. I am perfectly aware that is why you are all gathered here today. You think he will be a threat to your kind. You are unable to hear what I hear. He is not a threat to anyone, much less angels. I, on the other hand, am. These two men I am standing beside, are. Do not, for one moment think that just because I side with angels that I am one. It is taking a great deal of my strength at the moment to not kill you all for your mere thoughts about him."

Victoria could hear one of the angels moving in towards Dean. Victoria inwardly sighed, her hope of not having to kill any angels crushed. Without taking her eyes off the leader of the group she snapped the offending angel's neck, causing a bright light to emit from her eyes. She fell down, dead, and Victoria didn't even look, but she could feel her eyes flash, and she knew from the pain it was purple.

All seven remaining angel's eyes flashed blue and they began to attack the trio. Sam and Dean began to shoot. Although both men were incredible shots and always hit their targets, they were all so close that the shooting proved difficult. And those angels moved around quick. The shooting was for mere survival, not picking off opponents. Victoria had to focus on one at a time to kill without a physical attack, and with all the noise from all their thoughts it was difficult.

Suddenly, the angels that were still alive fell down as a golden light hit them, blue smoke wafting from their scorched-out eyes. Victoria looked behind her to see her nephew's golden eyes shining brightly, his hand extending toward the fallen angels. Sam and Dean were staring at him as well with a mix of awe, shock, and horror. Victoria lightly touched his cheek and his eyes went back to their normal color.

"Jack."

He turned his head toward his Aunt.

"I wanted to be here, and then I was just here."

"Guess the kid can teleport."

Victoria could hear an angel behind her, she suddenly turned around to find Ezekiel stabbing the leader of the rebel angels through with a blade. He let the body drop and then looked at Victoria.

"I am sorry."

"Where were you Zeke?" Dean asked as he put his gun back into his jeans.

"I was unaware there was trouble of this nature until a moment ago."

Sam looked at Victoria. "You didn't pray to him?"

"It's not second nature anymore, I didn't even think to."

Ezekiel appeared to be wounded by Victoria's comment, but quickly recovered. "When I could not find these particular angels in heaven, I knew they would be looking for Jack." Ezekiel looked towards the boy.

"Good afternoon Jack. I am Ezekiel, Victoria's Guardian."

Jack smiled at him.

Castiel appeared beside Dean and looked relieved when he saw Jack.

Dean looked to his friend. "He can teleport."

"We call it fly Dean."

Ezekiel looked at Castiel. "Hello, brother."

Cas nodded.

"I cannot assure you that this will not happen again, Victoria. I will most certainly try to keep peace in Heaven. Many of my kind are concerned that Jack poses a threat. I assure them repeatedly that he does not."

"You can tell each and every one of those winged dick bags that Sam and Dean Winchester have got the kids' back. And Victoria Doyle and Cas ain't no slouches either. We got a pretty good track record with your kind."

Ezekiel was never quite sure how to deal with the eldest Winchester.

"You are aware Castiel is one of my kind?"

Sam interrupted before Dean could make up a comeback. "Thank you Ezekiel for helping us out on your end. We really appreciate it."

Ezekiel nodded. "Jack possesses a great deal of power. He will be sought after by many creatures. I will constantly do my best to protect him."

With that, Ezekiel disappeared.

* * *

Victoria Doyle dropped her bag beside her side of her bed and sat down. She never really thought of a 'normal' life before. She found herself not being able to think about anything else ever since Sam told her of as normal a life as they could get. He put thought into it, which made her sad and wistful. He deserved everything he wanted, and for some reason she couldn't fathom he wanted it with her. More than anything, she wanted whatever her life held with him.

She never thought about a life with any human before Sam. She did not desire a sexual relationship with him, because she wasn't a sexual person, and she was happy with who she was. However, she thoroughly enjoyed what she would consider a 'romantic' relationship with him. She enjoyed his smile, his warmth, and the sound of his heartbeat in her ear. She loved Sam Winchester, and she wanted the life he told her about with him.

Sam knew something was bothering Victoria other than the fight they had earlier. He crouched down in front of her and took her hands in his. She smiled at him sadly.

"Hey."

"You want to talk about it?"

"You shouldn't have to fight angels, Sam. You should be a lawyer, fighting the good fight in a court room and dazzling the jury with your fantastic hair."

Sam smiled slightly. "We are fighting the good fight Tor. You, me, Dean, Cas, mom, and now Jack."

"But you shouldn't have to. I was born for this work. And up until now I was fine with that. But after what you said about us, and a dog, and our jobs, I just can't stop thinking about it. I never wanted that before you, and now?"

"Now?"

Victoria took her hands out of Sam's and stood up. She began walking back and forth, pacing. Sam stood up as well, he didn't move, but watched her nervously pace.

"Now, it's all I think about. I want that life with you Sam. I want a world where none of these supernatural elements even exist. I want a world where we help people by doing normal human things. I want us to be happy."

"I'm happy, with you."

"And I with you. More than I ever have been, or ever thought possible. But we live in constant fear. Of death, of the next big bad, of someone hurting those we love. It's not okay, Sam."

"It's our lives, Tor. I mean, yeah, it might change, but thinking about how it could be won't help right now."

Victoria stopped pacing and looked at Sam. "You're right, I apologize, I was acting foolishly."

Sam stepped over to her and pulled her to him. He kissed the top of her head as she put her arms around him.

"You were acting human. And it will get better Tor. Jack's here now, and with our help, I think we can actually get what we want one day."


	28. Part 2: Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**Thank you so, so much for the favorites / follows / and reviews! They mean so much as the author of this tale and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! **_

_Chapter Warnings: Okay, so this chapter is a bit out of our norm and does include some slash Destiel (I couldn't seem to help myself), however, this is in a parallel universe and in no way impacts the main characters that I have been trying to keep very much in character. Even in this parallel universe, however, there is nothing explicit (not so much as even a kiss), as I have been trying to keep with the show's actual ratings and guidelines (which has severely hampered my use of language :-)) This is explained in the story, but I wanted to give y'all a heads up in case any type of Destiel was not your thing, which I totally understand. I'm just so grateful you're choosing to read this tale of mine! So, parallel universe Destiel with a very different Dean/Cas. I will include a summary of this chapter at the bottom for my WONDERFUL readers who would prefer to pass on the Parallel Universe Destiel. This will be in the next few chapters as well but I will always include a warning. _

_Thank you so, so much for reading!_

Chapter 3

Say what?

Victoria Winchester snuggled into her husband's embrace. She carefully turned over and kissed his nose.

Sam immediately woke from the unexpected touch. He saw her face and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Victoria noticed the absence of light. "Those room darkening curtains we bought really do work well."

Sam was confused by her words as well as his morning stupor. "Curtains?"

"You are ridiculously clueless in the mornings. It's still cute."

"Okay?" Sam was beginning to become a bit concerned.

"The girls have that party today, we can't forget. It was sweet of Holly's mom to invite all three of them, but I'm pretty sure she just wants Grace there to help wrangle in the seven-year-olds."

"Girls?"

"You need coffee honey."

"Honey?"

"It was a term of endearment, not a suggestion for a sweetener."

"What girls, Tor?"

"Tor?"

Victoria pushed herself away from Sam. She turned on the light next to the bed and looked around the room. She could feel her heart beat increase as everything was unfamiliar. She looked at Sam's confused face.

"What the hell is this Sam? Some kind of practical joke? Where the hell are we?"

"In your room?"

"My room? I don't have a freakin' room Sam. We have a room, in our house, and this isn't our freakin' house!" Victoria was yelling at this point. She got up beside the bed, visibly scared. "This is not funny. Where are the girls?"

Sam got up on his side of the bed and was trying to be as calm as possible. "Just calm down, we'll figure this out…"

"Figure what out? Where the hell are we and where are our children?"

Dean and Castiel came bursting into the room. "What the hell's going on here?"

"Dean Winchester, if this is some crappy joke you and your asinine brother are playing on me, I'll kill both of you, you understand?"

"What joke? What does she mean Sam?"

"Tor thinks this isn't where we live, Dean."

"Stop calling me Tor. You have never called me Tor, Sam Winchester. Not in the entirety of our ten year marriage."

Dean and Sam said at the same time, "Marriage?"

Victoria looked at Cas. "Cas, first off, what the hell are you wearing?"

"Umm… a trench coat?"

"It's warm in here, why are you wearing a coat? What's going on?"

"Victoria, I always wear this coat. I never get hot or cold."

"What?"

"He's an angel, Tor."

"Dean, now is not the time to be flirting with your husband. Especially since he's about to be a widower because I'm going to kill you."

Dean's brow furrowed and he almost couldn't form the words, "My what?"

Castiel looked thoroughly confused.

Sam was on the verge of laughing, but he was so terrified he couldn't.

Victoria took a deep breath and looked at what she thought was her husband. "Sam, you got me. Okay? Ha ha. Now, where are our daughters? You know what happened the last time they made their own breakfast."

Sam had tears in his eyes as he shook his head. "Victoria, I am so sorry, we don't have children."

Victoria clutched her chest as she looked at him. She knew Sam would never take a joke this far. "What's going on?" Fear made her voice shake.

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out, okay?"

Victoria nodded her head. No matter what, she always trusted Sam.

They hadn't noticed that Jack had appeared behind Castiel quite some time ago. "Umm…"

Everyone looked at him accusingly, except for Victoria.

They were all sitting around one of the tables in the library. Mary made Victoria some tea and she was sipping it slowly. She kept playing with her wedding ring.

"So what you're saying is, you think our Victoria is in the place where this Victoria came from?"

Jack nodded his head.

Dean rubbed his temples. "And how'd this happen again?"

"I overheard Aunt Victoria and Uncle Sam talking in their room last night about a life they wished they had. I wanted that too, for them, and for everyone else. I didn't really think about it, I just wanted it."

Castiel patted Jack on the shoulder. "You didn't intend for this to happen Jack, you wanted a good thing. You wanted for Victoria and Sam to be happy. Do not blame yourself for this."

"The kid opened a rift?"

Castiel looked at Dean, "I do not think that is exactly what happened. I do not think there is a door open anywhere."

Sam looked at the ground. "So we can't get Tor back."

"Not through a doorway, no. However, we will get Victoria back, Sam."

"Yeah, Cas." Sam stood up and walked back to Victoria's room.

Victoria Winchester had just been introduced to the world of the supernatural. She never believed in any such things before. But here she was, in a different world, with her family, but not her family. Her brother-in-law was an angel and her nephew was a Nephilim. Although in this place he wasn't her brother-in-law at all and this Dean seemed really agitated they were together in any version of reality. In her short time of knowing them she could tell there was affection between the two, but nothing like her Dean and Cas.

"Look, Dean, Cas, my daughters need me. Sam needs me. He can't pick out his tie in the mornings without my help. I'm really hoping this is just a really weird dream and I'll wake up soon. Somehow though, I know it's not. Please, do whatever you can to get me back."

Dean was used to Victoria taking matters into her own hands and seeing a version of her ask for help was just weird.

"Look, we want her back too. Sam has been so much better with Tor. I want my brother to be happy. And that girl makes him happy. So yeah, we're gonna get his girl back. But it's gonna take time. So settle in princess and enjoy the ride."

Her Dean would never talk to her like that. "I understand you're agitated or whatever, but if I am going to stay here for an extended period of time without my family, get one thing straight Dean Winchester, you will never talk to me like that again."

Dean was taken aback. "Yeah, I uh, get it." He paused and thought about how to continue. "So you and Sammy have daughters huh? Is other me a good Uncle?"

Victoria relaxed and sat back in her chair. "The best. The girls love you and Cas."

Dean tried to realize this wasn't easy for her either. He just didn't do well when Sammy was upset.

"What do they look like?"

"They're beautiful. They have my eyes and Sam's hair. " Victoria smiled sadly as she took another sip of her tea.

Dean imagined the life his brother could have had and became angry. He let the anger dissipate before he spoke again. "That's a good combo."

Jack looked at the woman who was supposed to be his aunt. "Do I exist in your world?"

"Of course you do. You're my nephew. Cas and Dean's son."

Castiel became increasingly more confused. "I do not understand."

Dean rubbed his eyes. He really didn't want to explain.

"In my world, time, reality, whatever, you are not an angel. You are a human. You are a religious studies professor at the University where I conduct research. We ride to work together every day. You are kind, considerate, funny, slightly sarcastic. I adore you. Three quarters of every class you teach have crushes on you. But you don't even notice."

"That does not sound like me."

"It's not you, it's him. My Cas. My beautiful human Castiel."

"Who names their kid Castiel?"

Victoria looked at Dean. "A wonderful woman who just happened to have a miracle baby on a Thursday."

Mary wondered about her alternate life. "Do I exist?"

Victoria found herself enjoying talking about her life to people who knew nothing of it and were genuinely interested.

"Of course you do. You're the most wonderful Mom and Grandma ever. Jack and the girls adore you."

Dean swallowed and asked the question he had for a while. "And Dad?"

Victoria looked at him somewhat sadly. "Well, your Dad is of course your Mom's husband, Rob. Your Father, John, I've never even met. Umm, he didn't approve of Cas, to put it mildly. Sam told me it got really bad. Mary made him leave, they got divorced, and she found Rob. The best granddad possible. John's never met any of the grandchildren, not that I want him to."

Dean didn't really know how to process any of that information. But none of it was his life, so it didn't really matter.

"I still do not understand, Dean. In this Victoria's world are we…"

"Shut up Cas."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Don't be an infant Dean. Yes, Cas, in my world human Castiel and non-hunter Dean are very happily married to each other. They adopted a wonderful boy named Jack several years ago. They have raised him to be a very kind human being. Their personalities are completely different from y'alls. I've been here for roughly two hours and I can tell that. I know that y'all are going to get me back home. My Dean and Cas would stare at each other until someone else figured it out. So, don't get all weird because two completely different versions of the two of you are a couple. I mean Lord Almighty you didn't even know about this parallel world until this morning. Get over the weirdness and get me home."

Victoria got up from her seat and went back to the room that would be hers until she got home.

Sam saw her come in and immediately felt like an intruder.

"Uh, sorry, I came in here out of habit, I'll go."

He closed his laptop and got up off the bed.

"I know it's really strange for you to see me and have it not be her. Because looking at you and knowing you're not my Sam is pretty much the worst pain I have ever felt. I'm sure your lifestyle has put you through a lot, so this might not be as bad for you. But you're only human, and I know you love her, so I'm pretty sure it's bad for you too. Don't apologize for being in the room you share."

Sam nodded as he left and closed the door behind him.

Sam took his laptop into the library and plopped it in front of Dean. He began to speak as he opened it.

"So get this, what if Tor went to a different version of time, not necessarily a different world?"

Castiel titled his head. "Is that type of travel possible without a rift?"

"I think so, yeah. Sometimes it can be as simple as a room that the two different versions of people share."

Dean looked at the webpage. "Parallel time? So what? We find extra annoying Victoria's home here and see if we can see our Tor?"

"I think that's all we can go on right now."

Dean looked at his little brother. "All right, so let's get powered-down Buffy, the 'Stang, some beef jerky and get Tor back."

"We can't take the Mustang, Dean. Tor will legitimately end your life, and I like having a brother, but I won't blame her, so I'll be torn."

"But, she'll want to drive it first thing when she gets back, so we have to take it. For her."

"It's your life Dean." Sam went to go pack and tell Victoria of their plan.

"I'm driving the 'Stang." Dean smiled as he turned to his best friend. "Cas, work with the kid's powers while we're gone. I think he needs to control the flying thing first."

Cas nodded. "Of course." Castiel couldn't help but look concerned.

"What's wrong Cas?"

"Victoria's presence is one of the factors in Jack's protection. As are you and Sam. I'm worried that if it is known that the three of you are away, Victoria somewhat more so, than an attack will be planned. My strength is at full capacity, however, even I cannot defeat numerous enemies while protecting Mary and Jack."

"I am getting stronger Dad, if anything comes, I can help."

"I am aware of your powers Jack, and I am very proud of you for them, but you know as well as I do that they need to be honed, perfected. Victoria's absence leaves us very little time for that."

"Call us Cas, for anything. And don't forget about Zeke. He's the same power level as you, and he's got Guardian status. We'll bring Tor home, and keep saving the world."

* * *

_A/N: Chapter Summary: Victoria Winchester, who has been married to Sam Winchester for ten years, wakes up in a darkened room next to a Sam who has no idea what she's talking about. Jack sent his Aunt to a parallel time where the boys are guessing their Tor is. Victoria Winchester tells the family a bit about her life with three girls, their uncles, cousin, and grandparents (a man Mary married after John). The boys promise parallel universe (or time as Sam discovered) Victoria that they are going to get her home. I'm sorry for those of you who may not be Destiel fans, but I promise to always include warnings and a summary for those of you who may not want to read the details. :-)_

_Up next... Victoria Doyle wakes up in a very different situation _


	29. Part 2: Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank y'all so so much for reading this story of mine! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is a little bit on the light side. :-)_

**_Thank you so, so much for the follows / favorites / reviews! They mean so much as an author!_**

**_Chapter Warnings_**_: We get a bit of slash Destiel in this chapter too. However, this all occurs within a parallel universe (or parallel time as Sam discovered last chapter) and has nothing to do with the Dean and Castiel of the typical story. I really am trying to keep the characters very much in character, and the language / sex / violence / etc on par with the show. The Destiel that does occur in parallel time is not explicit, not even so much as a peck on the cheek. I'm sorry if the Destiel angle is not an element you enjoy as a reader, I will provide a summary at the end for those of you who may want to skip this scene. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this tale of mine!_

_I do not own Supernatural / Sherlock Holmes / Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movies / TV shows / Books / and/or Songs referenced in this story. _

Chapter 4

But where's the bacon?

Victoria Doyle sensed something unusual. The brightness of the sun. They weren't at her apartment, nor were they at a hotel. Unless someone installed sunlit windows in the underground bunker, something was afoot.

She heard water running and turned her head to the sound. Sam opened the door to the bathroom and smiled at her.

"I think we're going to have to return the curtains, babe."

Babe? Why was Sam calling her babe? Curtains?

Victoria sat up against the headboard and took in her surroundings. They were in a very nice bedroom. Almost everything was white, clean, and crisp looking. She liked it, but it was most definitely not home.

She looked at the man who looked like Sam. She listened. He wasn't a shifter, he was human. A human who didn't do manual labor either. A business human who worked out after work. Not her Sam.

What had happened? She thought for a moment, and a moment was all it took. Jack. He must had overheard her and Sam last night. He didn't know his own power, he must have just wanted something. Impressive. Very, very impressive.

Victoria didn't know if Jack created this world and put her in it, or if it already existed and she took the place of herself.

She must have been acting oddly to impostor Sam because he was leaning over her. She was taken aback by the closeness. She missed her Sam.

"Babe, the girls have that party today. You remember what happened last time they made their own breakfast."

Girls? Victoria decided the best course of action would be to play along until she could find a supernatural ally and get back home.

"Of course, I must have had some strange dreams last night. I'll get up."

"You usually wake me to tell me about your dreams. I hope they weren't bad."

"No, just strange."

"Good." Sam leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. "I'll have the coffee ready by the time you come downstairs."

Victoria mustered up a smile.

Grace, Hope, Faith, and Sam were sitting around the table in the kitchen when Victoria made it downstairs. They were all engrossed in breakfast, so Tor had the opportunity to access her situation. The girls were lovely. The two youngest looked like a perfect combination of herself and Sam. And the oldest looked just like her sister. Victoria couldn't help but smile at them. The littlest noticed her first.

"Mommy! Hope took the last cutie!"

Sam spoke up, "Yes, but you got the last portion of strawberries, Faith."

The littlest crossed her arms as she looked at her father. "But Daddy…"

"Eat your breakfast, Faith, no more arguments."

Victoria took the empty seat where Sam had a cup of coffee waiting. She took a sip. It wasn't horrible, but something about it wasn't right.

She took a bite of bacon. It was completely off. "Sam, what is this?" She had to take a large drink of coffee to get the 'bacon' down.

"It's the new brand of veggie bacon we bought. You don't like it? I thought it was good."

Oh dear God, they ate veggie bacon. Where was their Dean?

"Oh, the new brand threw me off. It is good." Victoria ate the rest of breakfast without any questions.

As Grace and Victoria were cleaning up after breakfast Dean and Castiel came in through the back door.

Dean looked more or less like Dean, but Castiel was a completely different story. He was wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket.

"Uncle Dean!" Grace exclaimed as she ran to her Uncle's waiting arms. Castiel pretended to look offended until he got a hug too.

It took Victoria a few seconds to deduce they were in fact together, married, in fact, by the rings. Castiel was also human. Victoria felt her heart sink, she was going to have to search for a helpful Supe.

Dean walked over to her, grabbed her by the waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey gorgeous. Where's your Sasquatch husband?"

Castiel walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek as well. "Hey Tori."

"Hey. He's uh, getting Hope and Faith ready for Holly's party." Tor learned a lot at breakfast.

"Are you going to be ready to go after he drops them off?"

"Go?"

"On the wine tour for Mom's birthday?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess. Dean, I don't drink."

Dean and Cas had to hold their stomachs they began to laugh so hard.

"Oh Tori," Dean managed to get out, "That's a good one."

Victoria tried to laugh. "Yeah, gotcha." She turned to Grace. "Sweetie, why don't you see what's taking your father so long?"

Grace nodded and went upstairs.

"Dean."

Dean looked at his sister-in-law inquisitively. "Yeah?"

"Are you aware your brother eats veggie bacon?"

"Duh. Your whole family is gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, vegetarians. You know that's why Cas and I stopped eating over here."

Castiel nodded solemnly. "Truth."

Victoria studied the would-be angel. In no way, shape, or form was he her Castiel. This man was happy-go-lucky. He was vibrant, full of life. She enjoyed being in his presence, but she really needed the angel. She could see how anyone would be attracted to this man though. She wondered if this Castiel was fated for the Winchesters in the same (yet a completely different) way than hers was.

Sam came down with all the girls. "All right, I'm going to drop them off, then when I get back we'll head on over to Mom's." He kissed Victoria on the cheek before going out the door.

"Dude." Dean said.

"Dean, I see you literally every day. You live next door. I'm sorry I didn't say hi or bye to you."

"Sam."

Sam turned to look at Cas. "Okay, now I feel guilty. About Dean, not so much. But Cas, you always deserve a greeting." Sam hugged Cas and then quite literally ran out the door.

"Bye Mommy!" All three girls shouted as they hurriedly followed their father.

"Bye girls!" Victoria shouted after them.

Victoria put on the clothes other Victoria designated for this particular occasion. Apparently they were staying the night wherever it was they were going and she was grateful other Victoria was type A and already packed a suitcase for her and Sam.

Victoria looked in the mirror before heading downstairs. She had to admit that other Victoria had nice style.

Cas whistled as she walked down the stairs. Dean ran to grab the suitcase from her hand.

"Oh, I got it, it's not heavy."

Dean took it anyway. "No sister of mine is going to carry her own suitcase."

"Okay."

Cas took her hand and got her to spin around, causing her dress to twirl around her. Victoria kind of enjoyed the feeling. She laughed slightly, and then felt immediately guilty for it.

Cas pulled her close and then whispered in her ear, "You're allowed to have fun every once in a while."

Sam came through the front door and grabbed their suitcase.

"Tori, you look absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome baby. Dean, come on man, get your stuff and put it in my car, we got to go."

Victoria stared at both hers and Sam's cars in the garage. They were both Subarus.

Victoria felt so incredibly out of place. She was sitting in the backseat with Cas since Dean and Sam were significantly taller and needed the leg room. How was she going to locate a Supernatural to help her get home? Jack needed her, and if she did switch places with other Victoria, then the boys were probably in over their heads.

She felt Cas's hand envelop hers. She looked at him and smiled. It must not have been convincing though because he furrowed his brow at her. She was going to have to make up a story later. That was extra annoying.

Mary and Rob were an absolutely lovely couple. Victoria couldn't help but be enchanted by them. She wished her Mary could be that happy. They rented a rather large van so the family could ride up together. Rob drove and Victoria expected no less.

They lived in California. All of them, like some fairy tale or pleasant dream. They were truly happy. Victoria was glad that some version of Sam and Dean were happy, no other people deserved it more.

In spite of all the familial bliss, Victoria Doyle really wanted to get back home. Her home. Her imperfect, supernatural-ridden, angst-filled world. She looked over at Sam. He was typing an email on his iPhone. She closed her eyes and wondered how she was going to get away with not drinking on a wine tour.

Much to her surprise and relief, no one seemed to notice Victoria didn't actually take a drink. She was quite proud of herself. The plants and various fountains around the vineyard may not have been too pleased with her alcoholic donations, but she didn't really have any other choice.

They were having a very fancy dinner with a live band and dancing on a sophisticated ballroom looking floor. Other Victoria planned everything to perfection. Victoria's dress was breathtaking, and she and Mary's hair and make-up were professionally done by people who came to the hotel. She had never felt so pampered in her whole life. She looked damn good too.

Cas asked her to dance first. Victoria had never danced in the entirety of her existence and had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She took Cas' hand and followed him with blind faith.

He pulled her close to him. There wasn't much dancing involved thank goodness, just moving back and forth. She followed his lead pretty well.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight."

"Thank you. You look incredibly handsome as well."

Cas smiled. "You're just saying that because we're related."

"It's not an obligatory compliment, Castiel. You are, in fact, incredibly handsome."

"In that case, thank you, Victoria."

Cas tilted her face up to his. "Why the long face?"

"I feel off somehow. Just different, I guess."

"Last time you felt 'off' I got a new niece."

Victoria stopped dancing momentarily, "Oh no, that's not it."

Cas furrowed his brow, "You sure? I saw you dump your wine. And you love wine, so…"

This Castiel just has to be clued into everything didn't he? "No, no, I have no answers. But what you're thinking is so not it."

"Right."

"No, really. I'm not, that."

"Got it."

They finished dancing in silence.

Sam had the foresight to call ahead and order them vegan meals. Victoria ate hers and was still starving. She looked at the cake everyone else was eating longingly. Sam got them the fruit plates.

Victoria tried to look like she was having fun, but some things are hard to feign. Especially knowing your true family could be fighting who knows what at the moment.

Other Victoria's pajama choices were nonsensical and Victoria could not understand how anyone would think they were comfortable. She went through Sam's bag and decided to wear one of his t-shirts and pair of boxers. Luckily the hotel had safety pins.

"Tori, what are you wearing?" Sam was on their bed looking through the TV stations.

"Your clothes."

"You told me you bought something special just for this trip." He smiled and a light bulb went off in Victoria's head.

Crap. "Umm, yeah, they uh, they didn't fit. They were too small. Have to return that on Monday."

"Okay. Not that you don't look good in my shirt and boxers. You do."

"Thanks."

"Are you coming to bed, or…?"

Victoria shifted her weight from one foot to the other. I mean, I guess this made sense. Dean and Cas were obviously different from her Dean and Castiel so why wouldn't this Victoria and Sam be different as well? They had kids, so yeah, makes sense. But how was she going to get herself out of this one?

"Sam, I'm so sorry, but I don't feel too well today. I don't know what's going on."

"Baby, it's okay. Come lay down and we'll watch some reality show we can make fun of."

No matter what version of reality, Sam was Sam.

* * *

**_Chapter __Summary:_**_ Victoria Doyle wakes up in a world not her own. She quickly deduces Jack is the cause and decides to play along as a member of a happy family until she can find a supernatural ally to help get her home. And this family is indeed happy. Sam and Victoria Winchester have three daughters, the eldest of which is her sister's, Grace. The girls go an overnight birthday party and the adults are on a weekend vacation for a wine tour for Mary and Rob's anniversary. The chapter ends in a hotel with Victoria Doyle and parallel time Sam watching reality TV. _


	30. Part 2: Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you so, so much for reading this story! I hope you are enjoying it! I would live to hear from y'all about any comments and/or suggestions you may have and things you would like to see included in this tale!_

_**Thank you so very much to all the wonderful readers who have followed / Favorited / reviewed this story! I appreciate it so much!**_

_Chapter Warnings: This chapter is pretty mild in all respects. The boys are still driving and Victoria Doyle finally meets another Supernatural creature. There isn't any violence and no Destiel warning on this one, and unless there is another parallel universe in the future, it probably will not occur again. However, I am open to all of y'alls suggestions and would love to read them! Thank you so much for reading!_

_A/N: I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV show / movie / book / song / and/or website that may be mentioned in this tale. _

Chapter 5

Many a room at the Hotel California

Victoria Winchester sat cross-legged in the backseat of the tiny Mustang. She kept going through the pictures on Victoria Doyle's phone. She didn't have any silly or funny pictures, most of them were about work. Some were incredibly disturbing about that work.

"So, uh, Victoria?"

Victoria Winchester looked in the direction of this Dean. "Yes?"

"How'd you and Sam meet?"

Sam looked at Dean and Dean shrugged.

It was a story Victoria didn't mind telling. "I was eighteen, Sam was twenty-two. He was entering law school at the same University I was attending for undergrad. We met in a grief counseling group on campus. His fiancée had died in a car accident. My sister died in childbirth. We were kindred souls from that first meeting. Friends at first of course. We had both been through so much, nothing else at that point was possible. I was the sudden mom to my niece, Grace, and Sam helped me with her a lot. She loved him. He loved her. One day, we both just kind of realized we were in love. It was slow, but sudden. Two years after we met we were married. Then, a few years later we had two more girls, Hope, and Faith. I miss them so incredibly much."

"We'll get you back to them."

"So, how did you and your Victoria meet?"

Sam chuckled. "Ah, well, we were on a hunt. The first thing I remember about her was her coat. It was blowing in the wind, along with her hair. But she, she was unmovable. In charge from the first moment we met her."

"Damn straight."

Sam smiled at his brother.

"Are you going to propose to her?"

Sam coughed. "Ah, well, in what we do it's, it's uh…"

Dean interrupted. "People die. Attachments are hard to deal with."

"From what I've seen, you're already attached. Might as well make it official. Of course loving someone can cause a great deal of pain. But that's what we sign up for. It's not all nine to five and Pinterest projects. Things get tough. But having someone there through everything makes it easier. Besides, you have the same life. It's not like she would be signing up for anything she's not already doing."

At one point in his life, Sam Winchester didn't give a second thought to marriage. Of course he was going to get married, have kids, the whole nine. But destiny, fate, whatever you wanted to call it had other plans for him.

"I don't think anything could really make me and Tor closer."

"Maybe not. I just know I like being married to my Sam. I mean, of course we have arguments, and disagreements. But we always know that the other is going to be there no matter what."

Sam smiled sadly. "Yeah, that's uh, that sounds nice."

* * *

Victoria Doyle could hear him as soon as they pulled into the driveway of their house. He was like an Angel, but not exactly. Her heartbeat fastened as she tried to think of a way to escape Sam, the girls, and the adorable Golden Retriever all snug in the back of Sam's Subaru.

"Babe? You okay?" Sam put his hand on hers, and she smiled at him.

"Umm, actually, I think I may need to go to the store and get something."

"Why didn't we just pick it up on the way home?"

Victoria glanced at the girls, hoping Sam would get the cue.

"Ah. Right. Yeah, so we'll just go ahead and start unpacking and we'll see you in a few."

Victoria kissed him on the cheek as she got out of Sam's car and into other Victoria's almost identical Subaru.

Victoria Doyle followed the thoughts to a playground about a mile from the house. She parked her car and sat next to a man dressed in ragged jeans and a hoodie on a bench.

"Hello Victoria."

Victoria smiled. This Being could get her home. "Hello Ammon."

He turned to look at her. His eyes were deep brown, beautiful. Without meaning to, Victoria stared into them. They brought comfort and warmth. She knew that even if she couldn't hear his thoughts, she would have trusted him.

"I sensed you the moment you arrived. I took my time in finding you because I wanted to know more. I listened to you, I learned about your world, your people, your overwhelming sense of urgency about making the world 'better'. I mourned for you. For your responsibility, and those of your 'hunters' and Angel."

Victoria averted her eyes and looked at the ground. "Yes, we are not without our share of problems. However, we, we fight." She once again met the captivating gaze of her new companion.

"Admirably, I might add. Victoria, I can send you home. However, we will have to wait until the Victoria in your world arrives here, over there."

"Can you sense her too?"

"I can sense all the beings that belong in my world. There has never been an instance like this exactly, so I was not fully aware I had that capability, but apparently I do.'

"Couldn't you just take me to where she is now over there, here?"

Ammon shook his head. "I have a responsibility, Victoria, to my people here. I am their protector, even though they have no idea as to my existence. If you leave, Victoria's family will not understand, in spite of any excuse. This has to be a seamless transition. I plan to alter Victoria's mind when you two switch, she cannot know there is a world beyond this one. Neither can her family think anything is off."

Victoria sighed. "What are you exactly?"

"You have one of my kind in your world."

"Jack?"

"Yes."

Victoria laughed with understanding. "How old are you?"

Ammon smiled slightly. "I am ancient. I am the son of Michael and an Egyptian woman many Millennia ago."

"You're immortal?"

"It would appear so."

"But your soul?"

"It is here, I'm particularly fond of it."

"How did you? All the creatures, just, how…"

Ammon grinned. "Unfortunately, you do not have the time to listen to my stories now Victoria Doyle. You were supposed to go to the store and pick up some item the children weren't supposed to know about. I will come to you tomorrow, in Victoria's office at the University. Victoria should arrive by tomorrow afternoon if they keep up the same pace."

With a 'woosh' he was gone.

* * *

"Really?"

"Dean, it's not her fault. She had to go to the restroom."

"Sam, this is the fifth stop we've made in the last three hours. Tor never does this. Tell her to stop drinking so much damn water."

"Wait, you want me to tell a woman we just met, who is separated from her family to stop drinking water?!"

"Look, Sam, I want to get Tor back, and Victoria's pit stops have taken up at least a frickin hour!"

"I want Tor back too, you know I do, but I think we just need to be as nice as possible to Victoria."

Dean sat back in his seat. "Fine."

Sam got out of the car to let Victoria back in the backseat. "Do you think we could stop at a hotel to sleep soon? I don't know how much more I can sit back here."

Dean looked at Sam with a look of pure exasperation. He started the car and began driving.

"Victoria, we're just trying to get you back to your family as soon as we can. Making stops takes up time."

Victoria started tearing up and Sam tried to backpedal as quickly as possible. "It's okay, we can stop."

Dean angrily put his arm on the window frame.

"No, I promise I'm not the world's biggest baby. I mean, I'm tough. I do mud runs and build houses for the homeless and workout five days a week. It's just, I'm pregnant."

Sam nodded and looked at his brother. Dean made an 'I'm sorry gesture' and looked intently at the road.

"I've been trying really hard to sit here, but I'm tired, a bit sick to my stomach, and I have to pee every five seconds, and my husband is in another world or time or whatever and doesn't even know I'm pregnant because I was going to tell the whole family this weekend on Mary and Rob's anniversary wine tour and I made a little onesie to announce it and everything and now I'm just lost and don't know what to do, and everything smells like leather!"

Victoria started crying and Dean pulled over to the side of the road. He looked back at Victoria.

"Look, you are tough, okay? You raised your sister's kid when you were just a kid yourself. You got yourself a Doctorate while keeping a home. That's some tough crap. All right, so you're pregnant. So what? The strongest people ever are moms. Yeah, we see some stuff and gank some monsters, but you? You create life. You can do frickin anything. Think about that baby there, think about your kids, your Sam, and let's get you home."

Victoria sniffed, wiped her face with her sleeve, and nodded at Dean. "Okay."

"Okay." Dean made a satisfied nod and started towards California once more.

* * *

Victoria Doyle wondered what she could possibly buy that the girls' weren't supposed to know about. It couldn't be alcohol, she couldn't drink. It couldn't be anything adult orientated, because reasons. She thought about a pregnancy test, but she didn't know what other Victoria had going on and knew that could be risky. Maybe it could be a surprise for the girls. But what. The only child in her life was born a teenager who could smite Angels with a look.

She giggled slightly. It was inappropriate, she knew, but she just let it escape.

She must have been standing in the drugstore too long because an employee came to her. "Do you need some help?"

"Do you have children?"

The employee looked taken aback, but answered, nonetheless, with a question of his own. "Like, for sale?"

Victoria's mouth opened slightly as her brow furrowed. "No, as in offspring."

"Oh!" He looked relieved. "I do, actually."

"Great, so if you wanted to surprise them with something, what would it be?"

"Like, what scale are we talking about?"

"Something from here."

"Oh, uh, ice cream?"

Victoria sighed, "We don't eat dairy."

"We have almond milk and coconut milk ice cream."

"You do?!"

"Yes ma'am, this is California."

Victoria smiled as she thanked the employee.

Victoria put five pints of ice cream in the trunk of the Subaru and headed back to the house.

* * *

In spite of his pep talk, Dean felt like he was pushing Victoria too hard. They stopped at a Diner that was attached to a motel so Victoria could sleep and he and Sam could eat.

Sam was scrolling through his iPad as he was eating his salad. "What do you think Tor is doing over there, Dean?"

Dean wiped ketchup off his chin before answering his brother. "Trying to act like Victoria until she can find a way out of there."

Sam nodded. "What if she likes it there?" He tried to smile, but it was so pained that it caused Dean to swallow hard.

"Sammy, Tor, uh, she needs you. She's not gonna like it anywhere that you're not."

Sam nodded, unsure. "It's what we were talking about. The life we wanted."

"She wants it with you. Not some yuppie Sam. You. The been through hell and back died for his family you."

"I just, Dean, I don't know where I stand with her all the time. I want everything with her. And I know it's not really conventional or whatever, but I don't care. I just don't know how she feels about me, you know?"

Dean shoved the rest of his burger in his mouth, "Sammy, don't tell Tor this, because she'll kill me, and honest to God, I'm a little afraid of her."

Sam nodded with a slight smile.

"I'm serious. That night Zeke was there, I prayed to him because I was worried about Tor's purple eyes thing. Scared the hell outta me. Anyway, he said he kept us from meeting Tor because even though you two aren't exactly soulmates all the broken pieces of your souls fit together."

Sam looked puzzled. "What?"

"Yeah, so, Zeke knew how dangerous Tor could be if she ever met you. He knew that girl would destroy anything in her path to save you. She told me that night she was in love with you and as long as you wanted her, she'd be there. So, that's how she feels about you."

Dean smirked as he shoved fries in his mouth.

"She used the words 'in love'?"

"Yup."

"We got to get her back, Dean."

"We will."

* * *

Victoria Doyle, Sam, and the girls were all piled onto the couch eating their pints of ice cream. They laughed as spoons were dipped into pints belonging to others so they could try different flavors.

After the girls were put to bed and Victoria was rinsing the spoons off in the sink she felt Sam's arms encircle her waist from behind. It wasn't really uncomfortable and had it been her Sam it would've been fine, welcome even. But she knew she had to be Victoria, and Victoria wouldn't shove her husband away for an embrace. She leaned back into him and closed her eyes, pretending and wishing he was her Sam.

"You are absolutely amazing, you know that?"

"Yes."

Sam laughed and kissed her head. "So, what are we going to name this one?"

"Hum?"

Sam let her go and Victoria turned around. He was holding a newborn onesie with the words, "May the Fourth I'll be with you".

Victoria snickered at the joke. Cas was right. Well, not completely right, but kind of right.

"You are the most wonderful woman, and I don't know how I got so lucky with you. You have given me everything I have ever wanted."

Victoria could only smile at him. She was sharing a moment that wasn't hers. Before she could protest Sam kissed her. She kissed back as best she could, but it wasn't her Sam. Tears streamed down her face as she realized she wasn't getting to experience this for the first time with him.

Sam backed up and wiped her tears away with his hand. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry, I'm just so emotional."

Sam hugged her tight and she allowed herself to cry into his t-shirt.

Cas came to pick Victoria Doyle up at exactly 8:00am Monday through Friday. She handed him a to-go cup of coffee as she got in the car with what she guessed was her messenger bag. The girls were all off to school, and today was the day Victoria Doyle got to go home.

Cas looked at the cup. "Tori, I uh, love you, but I do not love almond milk creamer."

Victoria looked at him slyly as she pulled a Coffeemate creamer bottle out of her messenger bag. "Do not tell Sam because I'll deny it to the grave."

Cas smirked as he took a sip. "Rebel. You just got ten times hotter."

"So, I wasn't hot before?"

"Oh no, you were definitely hot before, but now, damn girl, you're on fire."

Victoria was truly going to miss Cas.

Her office was small, but it had a coffee maker and a mini fridge. Two things she and other Victoria agreed on.

Ammon appeared in one of the chairs opposite her desk as Victoria poured water into the coffee maker.

"Good morning Ammon."

"Good morning Victoria."

"Coffee?"

"Yes please."

Victoria got a mug from the top of the mini fridge and poured two sugar packets into it. She poured the freshly brewed coffee into the cup and handed it to the Nephilim.

"Mind reading has its perks." He said as he took a sip.

Victoria sat down and smiled. "Thank you for coming."

"I said I would."

"Regardless, thank you."

Ammon nodded. "You will need to be home at 12:30, that is when Victoria and your hunters will be at her house here, there."

"Cas drove me, I guess I'll text him I'm ill and need to be taken home."

"Yes."

"You have to erase her memories?"

"I do. For the safety of my world."

"Just how did this world become so supernatural free?"

"Well, as I told you, I am ancient. As you know, the powers of a Nephilim surpass those of the Angelic parent. I am sure you are also accustomed with the Michael of your world."

Victoria nodded.

"I quickly learned, through the instruction of my mortal mother, that I am here to help other human souls. She taught me that I was here for good, and a great purpose. It took centuries, but I was able to completely rid the world of evil. Just as your Jack will one day be able to do."

Victoria sucked in a breath. "You've fought for centuries?"

"Millennia."

Victoria could feel tears pool in her eyes. "He's just a boy."

"And you were just a girl."

"But, I'm mortal. I'll die and go to Heaven. But, him, my beautiful nephew, will have to fight for millennia?"

Ammon reached across the desk and put Victoria's hands in his. "I visit my Mother, in Heaven, as well as my Father. I am allowed in, and out whenever I please. I can keep people from suffering. This world here, it is infinitely better than yours, yes?"

"I, I don't know. I just have only been here a short while."

"And in that short while, what have you learned?"

"They're happy."

"Yes, they are."

"But what about the other types of violence? People?"

"I am afraid that is a matter of free will Victoria, and in that, I do not interfere."

"No monsters?"

"None."

"Demons?"

"All in hell. Where they stay. And the angels in Heaven."

"And Jack, he will be able to do all the things you do? Be guardian of our world?"

"Yes."

"No more hunters risking everything?"

"No more."

"But Jack?"

"Is strong. And will become stronger with your guidance. And you will be able to guide him through all eternity."

Victoria closed her eyes. "That is quite a bit to take in Ammon."

"You're not the average human Victoria Doyle. And neither is Jack."

Victoria smiled. "Thank you. I am so glad I met you. Not simply because you are going to get me home, but because you gave me a hope I didn't have before."

Ammon smiled. "And I am glad to have given you that hope Miss Doyle. I will meet you at Victoria's home at 12:30." With a woosh, he was gone.

* * *

Victoria Winchester stared at the house that was hers in another world. The color was different, and it didn't have the "W" wreath on the front door.

Sam spoke first, "I think the way this works is that we need to be in the room you spend the most time in when you're home. Unfortunately, this isn't your house, so I think we might have to technically break in."

Dean handed Sam a pair of gloves from the trunk. "We're legit now, so we have to commit crimes like normal people."

Sam looked at his brother, gave an exasperated smile, and put the gloves on.

They rang the doorbell to make sure no one was home, and then Sam unlocked the door.

* * *

Victoria Doyle stood in the living room in a house that wasn't hers and looked at her companion.

Ammon was closing his eyes, concentrating. He put out his hand, and an old-fashioned red door appeared. He opened his eyes and motioned Victoria to go through.

Victoria nervously put her hand on the knob and turned. She could see her Sam, Dean, and herself. She gasped and the other Victoria ran towards her. Victoria held the door open and as soon as the other Victoria went through it, the door disappeared.

Victoria ran to Sam and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back tightly and buried his face in her hair.

After a few seconds, Dean coughed and said. "So, we're kind of breaking and entering here, so maybe we should uh, get out?"

Victoria broke away from Sam and quickly hugged Dean. "You're wearing gloves? I'm so proud!"

Sam locked the door behind them and Dean looked at the Mustang as he handed the keys to Victoria.

"Yeah, so um, I am so glad you're back Tor. You have no idea. But, I'm gonna call Cas and have him take me back home. You and Sam can drive back. Kay?"

Victoria nodded.

Cas wooshed in and grabbed Victoria in a tight embrace. "Victoria, I am so relieved that you are back. We need you."

"I need y'all too. So, so much."

"I am going to have to make multiple trips, especially with the car."

"Actually, Cas, Tor and I are going to drive back, so just one trip."

"Okay, Sam." Cas lowered his head, "Be careful."

With another 'woosh' Cas and Dean were gone.

Victoria looked at Sam and smiled. "Road trip, Mr. Winchester?"

Sam smiled.


	31. Part 2: Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I would love to hear from y'all about this tale! I would be thrilled to read your suggestions and comments!_

**_Thank you so, so much to all the wonderful readers who have followed / favorited / reviewed, I appreciate it so much!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV show / Movie / Song / and/or Book referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 6

Each and Every Byway

Even though Victoria Doyle's world had its fair share of monsters, creepy crawlies, and all- around supernatural terror, she was still glad to be back. And she was very glad to sitting next to her Sam. Everything felt right, even though things were very, very wrong.

"Umm... Tor?"

Victoria looked at her passenger.

"Yes?"

"What were they like?"

"Not my family."

Sam smiled, he enjoyed that answer. "So, Cas and Dean…?"

"Oh, very different from Castiel and Dean. Cas was this huge personality that lit up every room he was in. Sam, I danced with him."

Sam laughed. "What?"

"Yeah, so, we went on this wine tour for Mary and Rob's anniversary and had this fancy dinner, and there was dancing, and Cas asked me, and he was just this presence. Smart, and charming, and incredibly attractive."

"Attractive?" Sam tried to push down the small feeling of jealously he felt rising up.

"Yes, there is no other word for it. I've never danced in my life, but he made it so easy."

Sam nodded solemnly. "And the girls?"

"Sam, they were absolutely beautiful. Grace looked just like my sister. And Hope and Faith looked like this perfection combination of…" Victoria trailed off as she looked over and saw Sam's face.

Victoria reached out her hand and took Sam's in hers. "They weren't ours. Jack is ours. We're each other's. Sam, that will never be our life. It wasn't meant to be."

"I know." Sam squeezed her hand slightly and gave the sad smile he was so good at. "How did you get back?"

"There was a Nephilim, Ammon. The only supernatural creature on their world. He was born in Egypt millennia ago. He is the son of Michael. It took him a very long time, but he rid his world of every supernatural threat. The demons stay in hell and the angels in Heaven. He is their guardian, their protector. He told me Jack will be the same."

"That's incredible. But to have to fight, for that long."

"I know. Ammon said it helped him to have access to Heaven to visit his mother and father. So, I suppose Jack can see us?"

"Yeah, I guess that might help. So, he's immortal?"

Victoria nodded. Her hand was still in Sam's. "Do you want to drive awhile, or would you like to stop? This is our road trip after all." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'll drive for a little bit. Actually, I had this place I wanted to take you, so it can kinda be a surprise?"

"I would not accept a surprise from any other being besides you. I do not like surprises."

Sam smirked, "I know."

Victoria Doyle took the opportunity of the passenger seat to FaceTime her nephew.

"Aunt Victoria!" The boys' face lit up when he saw his Aunt.

"Hi Jack. How are you?"

"Great, I am so, so sorry that I…"

Victoria interrupted him. "Jack, it's not your fault. The fact that you can make people switch between worlds is incredible. That is a lot of power you possess."

"Dad is trying to teach me how to harness it." Jack was sitting on his bed. He looked around him. "But, I kinda want to learn other things too, you know? I just don't know how to tell him. I don't want to hurt his feelings, and I know you guys have been dealing with a lot."

"What kind of things?"

"Umm, like regular kid things. Some of the knowledge I already have. But I don't understand things, like how things work. Or maybe, how people work."

"In that case, I am not one hundred percent certain either Castiel or myself would be the best of instructors."

Sam smiled.

Jack nodded. He looked somewhat downhearted.

"However, that is why we have Sam. And Dean. Sometimes." Victoria grinned. "I will talk with Dean, and when Sam and I get back, I know he will teach you all he can about how humans work. He is very, very good with the whole human interaction aspects of life."

Jack looked hopeful. "Thank you. Do you think I'll be able to go on a case soon?"

Victoria was not prepared for that question. "Pardon?"

"Hunting monsters? The family business?"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Jack, can you find Dean and give him the phone please?"

"Sure." Jack started to get off the bed, but before he did he looked back at the screen, "Aunt Victoria, I love you."

Victoria was not used to hearing those words from anyone, and even though she knew how she felt towards her nephew, the verbalization still caught in her throat. "I love you too, Jack." She managed to say the words, even though they were broken and sounded foreign.

Jack smiled and went to find Dean.

"Yeah". Dean Winchesters' voice was unusually gruff and from his appearance Victoria surmised Jack woke him up from a nap.

"Is Jack around?"

"Nah, the kid went back to his room. What's up?"

"Did you tell him that he would go on a case?"

"Look, Tor, he's not a child. Crap is gonna come after him. He's got to learn sooner rather than later."

Victoria hated admitting he was right. "Okay. Honestly though, Dean, I do not know where to start. Granted, we were all more or less born into this, but this feels different."

"Cas is helping him learn some of the angelic stuff, and we'll train him with the human hunter stuff. We got this. You were what, twenty-one before you were trained? Just do what Zeke did with you."

Victoria sighed. "I was Ezekiel's job, his pupil. Jack is my nephew. I understand that he must learn for his own safety and protection, but I want to protect him, from everything."

Dean rubbed his chin. "I get that. I see him as a kid too, and damn it, he's family. And it sucks. But, Tor, there is no other choice. We'll start him out easy. And we'll be there, in case things go South."

Victoria nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Dean."

"Whoa."

"What?"

"You're trying to hang up without telling me how you got back. I've been dying to know, but I wanted to give you and Sammy time, so…"

Victoria snorted a smile and then told the eldest Winchester everything about the time she spent with the other Winchesters.

* * *

Victoria Doyle stood in front of a collection of graffiti-ed cars in odd positions in the middle of the desert. "I am definitely surprised."

Sam breathed out a slight laugh. "It's called 'The International Car Forest of the Last Church', I uh, I thought you'd enjoy it."

Victoria started looking around. The cars and buses were in varying positions that almost defied gravity. Victoria strolled past each one leisurely, taking in the colorful art they displayed. "Tell me about them."

"So, two artists collaborated on the forest after one saw the other's work in the middle of the desert. It was one of the cars' front end in the ground, which held the painted car up."

"Why 'The Last Church?"

"Apparently, one of the artists was religious."

Victoria and Sam stood in front of a station wagon that was held into the ground by its front end. It was rusted and the windows were broken completely out. It almost looked like it had wrecked there and was left to eventually become one with the burning, Nevada, desert sand. On its top was written, in attractive graffiti, the words, "We are All in This Together." Around them there was nothing but desert and sky. And abandoned graffiti-ed vehicles.

"You found beauty in a wasteland." Victoria looked at her companion, "You will never cease to amaze me, Sam Winchester."

* * *

Victoria Doyle and Sam Winchester were sitting in a small-town diner when Victoria overheard a conversation between two young women.

"_Look, Vi, I don't know, but Lucy's whole family has been killed in the past few weeks and it's all because of 'animal attacks'? I don't buy it, and I'm scared." _

"_I think it's just a coincidence. You know these desert animals, they don't play." _

"_Five people in the same family?! In three weeks?!"_

Victoria pulled out her phone. After a quick search she found that five people had been killed by various unknown desert animals. They were all in the same family. It was also noted that a sixth member of the family had died suddenly before the attacks of a brain aneurysm. She was only eighteen years old. Victoria quietly handed her phone to Sam.

Sam looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Do you want to call Cas, Dean, and Jack in on this?"

"I can't hear anything, so we probably should, yes."

Victoria got a suite at the hotel so they could all sit in the living room to find out what they were hunting. Dean, Cas, and Jack brought several books and Jack and Sam were going through them.

Dean was sharpening his machete, Cas was staring at Jack, and Victoria was going through her phone trying to find her nearest law enforcement contact.

Sam looked up from his reading. "I don't really know what we're looking for here."

Victoria looked up at him. "There is not really much to go on at this point, I'm afraid. What we do have is a monster that is messy, has a taste for blood and/or human flesh, and targets families. Probably her own family."

Everyone gave her a questioning glance.

"The first victim, Lucy, died much differently than the others, I doubt that is a coincidence."

"So, what? Chick is angry she died, seeks revenge for bad genetics?"

Sam squinted at his brother. Dean shrugged.

"I suppose that is what we are trying to find out." Victoria looked back at her phone.

Sam switched from his book back to his iPad.

"Aunt Victoria?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Are we trying to find out what this is in order to know how to kill it?"

Victoria wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. She never wanted her nephew to think of himself as a monster, something that had to be 'dealt with', so she wanted to make sure her phrasing was as delicate as it could be. Something she never worried about before.

"Everything we can learn about a creature is helpful. The more I know about a creature, the better I can hear it. If I can hear the creature's mind, it will help determine what we must do about that creature's fate."

Sam gave her a concerned smile.

Jack didn't seem satisfied. "What about hunters that can't read a monster's mind?"

Victoria inhaled thoughtfully. "Every person, every Being, every Entity, is responsible for their own actions. Some of those beings have more power than others. That makes us even more responsible. Hunters take on a responsibility much like those with greater power. They take it upon themselves to rid the world of evil. Or their perception of evil. I cannot answer for those Hunters, however, I am sure they are doing what they think is right. You, and me, and Castiel, and Dean, and Sam, that is all we can do as well, what we think is right. We are all here for you, to help you decide what you feel is right."

Jack nodded. "Do monsters think what they are doing is right?"

Victoria Doyle was definitely not ready to have children.

"They don't think Kid, they just do." Dean waved his machete for emphasis.

"They do not have a soul, Jack." Cas looked at his pseudo son.

"You don't either, and you know the difference between right and wrong."

"It took me a very long time and knowing Sam and Dean for years in order for me to learn that difference, Jack. It wasn't sudden. I had to learn, to be taught."

"Can't the monsters be taught?"

"Like, what, Monster Rehab?" Dean furrowed his brow.

Sam gave an exasperated look towards his brother. "Jack, uh, Cas is different because even without a soul, he doesn't act just on instinct. He was created to follow orders and be a soldier of Heaven, but he was always allowed free will. The monsters we hunt, they usually can't overcome that instinct. And yeah, some of them it's hard to kill, because they look human or they were human. But we do what we do to save people."

Jack nodded with understanding.

Victoria got up and looked at Sam. "We have an appointment to go see the bodies."

Dean got up instead. "Let's go."

* * *

Victoria allowed Dean to put in his Led Zeppelin tape and she wondered what had become of her.

"The kid scares me Tor."

Victoria looked towards her companion. "What?"

"Yesterday, Cas was teaching him something, I don't know, suddenly half the room was on fire. Accident. Cas put it out, but if he wasn't there? What if Mom had been in there you know? Or Sam? Scares the crap outta me."

Victoria sighed. "That must have been why he was asking all those questions about monsters. Why didn't you call me?"

"Why? Because Sammy was a wreck while you were gone. He was questioning himself on everything. I wanted him to have you back, for himself, for just a bit, maybe be as normal as possible for one long car ride."

"The two of you, well three, sacrificing self for each other's happiness is the textbook definition of co-dependence."

"Yeah?"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "We know that Jack will probably, well definitely, be more powerful than all of us combined. We also know his genetics could lead him down a path of not such good choices. So, we must counter that. Or I do. Putting any responsibility on you or your brother is completely unfair."

"We signed up for it. And you're stuck with Sam. So, you're stuck with me. Codependency and all."

Victoria smirked at him. "I do know we cannot act scared of him. That is a fantastic way to lose the illusion of parental authority. He lost his mother. He was born an adult more-or-less. He needs consoling, cajoling, and admittedly, I have failed where that is concerned."

"Yeah. I uh, know how it is to lose a mom. I get it, I do. But his power, Tor, we gotta reign that in. I won't let Mom near him."

"Dean."

"I'm not risking Mom. Not for anything. He's a nuke, he could sneeze and half the world could be wiped out."

"I understand what you are saying, I just think he also needs compassion, and love. I do not know how capable I am to offer that."

"You're kidding, right? I've seen you with Sam, Tor."

Victoria looked at him. "Yes."

"You're plenty capable to offer whatever Jack needs."

Victoria bit her bottom lip inside her mouth and nodded. "After this, we'll come back to the bunker. I've enjoyed my time with Sam immensely, but I have an obligation to Jack, and my sister. Thank you for the time we had."

"You'll get plenty more. We just gotta raise the kid."


	32. Part 2: Chapter 7

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so much for the follows and favorites! They mean so much to me as I write this tale and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate them!_**

_Chapter Warnings: Bit of blood and gore in this one, described in a fair amount of detail. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Shows / Movies / Songs / and/or Books used in this tale. _

Chapter 7

Don't Shoot Your Shot

Dean Winchester pulled back the sheet of the latest victim and visibly grimaced. "Sloppy work, even for a monster."

Victoria Doyle used her gloved finger to poke at the victim's neck wounds. "It's almost as if this was a vampire, however, there is meat missing too."

The officer who let them into the morgue started audibly retching.

Victoria turned to him. "I said you could leave. And never repeat the word 'vampire' unless you are referencing a novel of some sort."

"Or TV show." Dean added.

The tall, slight man nodded and left the room holding his stomach, he was considerably paler than when they met him.

Dean was flipping through the autopsy report. "There was significant blood loss, along with several muscles, tendons, et cetera being 'removed'."

"So, along the lines of a vampire, although a sloppy one?"

Dean put the clipboard down. He put the sheet back over the man's face and closed the morgue drawer back. Victoria took off her gloves and threw them away. Dean followed suit.

"What the hell, Tor?"

"If I knew I could hear it."

"Newly turned Vamp?"

"Maybe, but if so, I should hear it, and if my theory is correct and the monster is Lucy, then the brain aneurysm does not make sense."

"Unless it was a cover. We gotta find the body."

Victoria gave him a questioning eyebrow.

"Alright, we gotta prove the body isn't there."

"I don't like digging."

"I don't care."

* * *

Dean rolled his eyes as Victoria watched the policemen dig up Lucy Waters' grave. She gave him a self-satisfied smirk.

"Dry-cleaning bills."

"Still?"

"Always."

Dean and Victoria looked on with anticipation as the officers opened the casket. Just as they surmised, it was empty.

Victoria and Dean were on their way back to the hotel when Victoria got a call.

"Hello"… "Yes, we'll be right there."

Victoria looked over at Dean. "There are two young women who want to speak to us."

"The girls you and Sam saw at the Diner?"

"More than likely."

Violet Timmons and Jo Morehouse were sitting nervously in a conference room at the police station. Victoria and Dean sat across from them at a rather long table.

"I'm Dean and this is Victoria. You wanted to talk to us?"

The girls looked at each other, wanting one to speak before the other. Violet, a young woman with pink at the ends of her light blonde hair, spoke first.

"We, uh, me, and Jo, umm… we think that our friend, uh, Lucy, who is, uh," Violet stopped talking for a moment and took a deep breath, "We think our dead friend is trying to kill us."

Victoria thought to herself, zombie? She closed her eyes and listened. No, not a zombie. Is it ever a zombie? Not a vampire. Not a ghoul. What the hell?

Dean clasped his hands together and put them on the table in front of him. "Violet, right?"

The girl nodded shakily.

"Violet, why do you think your friend is trying to kill you?"

"You believe us?"

"I've heard crazier, believe me."

Both the young women looked relieved, knowing they were going to be believed.

This time Jo, the young woman with dyed black hair and sad eyes spoke. "We were hanging out at my apartment earlier and there was a knock at the door. I was expecting a pizza, which is the only reason I opened it."

Dean nodded.

"It was Lucy. But not like normal Lucy, she looked dead. I screamed and she asked me for food. Food. I ran into the kitchen and got everything I could and threw it at her. Then she left."

Victoria texted Sam the food information. Victoria got up and left the room while muttering a 'Thanks' to Jo and Violet.

The asking of food caused something to 'click' in Victoria's brain. She couldn't figure out exactly what it was, and she knew she needed more info in order to retrieve the information she felt she might have stored.

"I need any reports you have of strange occurrences."

"Ma'am?" The tall, slight officer seemed confused, if not back to his normal skin color.

"Strange. Anything classified as 'odd' that people made a report on or called in. Anything."

Dean joined her at the front desk as the officer was printing papers.

"You just left."

"I do that."

"I don't like it."

"I don't care."

Victoria took the papers from the officer and sat on the floor, she began spreading the papers out in front of her. Dean rolled his eyes and followed suit.

She took pictures of the reports and sent them to Sam.

Dean grimaced at the papers. "Fecal matter smeared on gravestones, cow's udders being ripped off, what the hell?"

Victoria smiled as she received a message from Sam.

"She's an Obour."

Instantly, Victoria heard her. She left the papers on the floor and headed towards her car.

Dean quickly got up and followed her. He barely made it into the passenger seat before she took off. "Son of a Bitch, Tor."

"I'm sorry Dean. I just heard her and acted. I apologize."

"I get it. Are we going to call in Sam and Cas?"

"It's up to you."

"It's just her?"

"That's all I can hear."

"What's she thinking?"

"It's jumbled, and erratic. Mainly she's hungry. Very hungry."

"Right."

* * *

Victoria and Dean were standing in a cow pasture.

"She's here?"

"In the vicinity. I'm trying to guide us towards her. As I said, her thoughts are erratic and jump from thing to thing. Right now she's mainly thinking 'cow' and as you can see from our surroundings, that's not too entirely helpful."

As soon as she finished that sentence Victoria was struck from behind with a rather large rock. As she fell to the ground, her Kimber fell out of her coat pocket. Dean quickly picked it up before the man who struck Victoria could. He aimed it at the man with the rock, but Victoria knocked the guy onto the ground by kicking his legs before Dean could shoot.

Victoria held her head and healed it before talking to the man who she was now on top of. "Ugh, he's human." The man punched her in the stomach, catching her off guard. She fell over. In pure anger, Victoria rolled over and grabbed the man by his shirt and pinned him once more to the ground. This time she held his hands at his sides.

"Who are you?"

The man spit on her.

Victoria's eyes flashed purple and she could feel the man's fear.

"How hard Dean?"

Dean was still holding her gun unsure of what to do. He wanted to punch the guy in the face, but Victoria seemed to be taking care of it. "What?"

"How hard do I punch him? He's human."

"Oh, uh… one tenth Angel."

Victoria smiled somewhat cruelly as she removed her hands from the man and punched him. Repeatedly.

"Who are you?!"

The man spit out blood and looked at her. "Joshua, Bitch."

"Must be fun writing that on forms."

Dean snickered.

"What are you doing here?"

"Protecting her."

"Who?" Victoria had let her guard down. "Dean!" She yelled, "Three O'Clock!"

Dean turned the gun on a creature that resembled a woman but also looked like pure terror. It was almost skeletal, its milky skin stretched over bone.

"Food!" It yelled.

Victoria could see Dean's finger on the trigger, "Dean, don't…"

Before she could say the word 'shoot' Dean fired the Kimber, causing the creature to explode. There was absolutely no other word for it.

Bits of bone, flesh, organs, udders, hair, food in varying states of decay, and teeth splattered over all three of them and the surrounding field.

Victoria sat back and released her hold on Joshua. She wiped matter off her face and out of her eyes before dragging Joshua by his shirt and propping him up against a cow that was laying down.

"I am covered in things I cannot even describe to you. I am going to have to pack my coat into a box and ship it to Misses Umbridge in Georgia. She is not a pleasant woman, but she can get anything out of a coat. To sum up my present mood, I am not happy. Unless you tell me what the hell you are doing here and why the hell you hit me with a rock, I am going to be less happy. Understood?" Victoria flashed her eyes purple for emphasis.

Joshua nodded.

Dean took off his outer flannel and began wiping his face off with it. He started to wipe Tor's gun off too. He wondered what the hell she had loaded in that gun.

"I am, was Lucy's boyfriend." He paused.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Go on."

"We were having an argument, and uh, I pushed her, just a little, and she fell back and hit this rock and then she didn't move, and I uh…" He started crying.

"You Son of a Bitch." Dean growled. "You killed her. Did you pay someone off for the brain aneurysm story?"

"No, my Dad, my Dad is the medical examiner." He started crying even harder.

"Shut up!" Dean growled to the point where even Victoria jumped.

Joshua sobered up a bit and looked at them. "The night of her funeral, Lucy came to my house, asking for food, I thought I had a second chance, you know? To make things right."

"That didn't work out did it?"

Joshua shook his head at Dean. "She was just so hungry. She went to her parent's house and they were scared, and when they refused her food, she would eat them. It wasn't all at once, but after a while she killed them all. I took their bodies to the desert hoping it would look like some kind of animal attack."

Dean had enough. "Look, Tor, I say we waste him too."

Victoria looked at him.

"Right."

She looked at the man who was propped up against the cow. "If you move, we will waste you."

He nodded.

"I have to call this in. Why don't you head back to the hotel and get cleaned up? I'll meet you there after all this is taken care of."

"How are you gonna get back?"

"I'll have an officer drop me off. This will take a while."

Dean nodded. "You gonna be okay with him?"

Victoria nodded. "There is a sheet in the back of the car. Put it over the seat before you get in there or touch anything. I do not want to see one fragment of Obour on my baby."

Dean nodded.

* * *

"What the hell happened, Dean?" Sam asked his matter-soaked brother.

"Your girlfriend makes explosive ammo and doesn't tell anyone about it." Dean walked straight back to the bathroom.

"Where is Tor?"

"Tying up loose Obour ends. She'll be here later and I need a trash bag."

Cas and Jack looked towards the closed bathroom door in confusion. Sam shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

Victoria walked into the hotel room several hours later. Just like Dean, she went straight to the bathroom.

Two hours later she sat on the couch next to Sam.

"What the hell kind of ammo was that?"

Victoria looked at the eldest Winchester. "It was experimental. I was trying to create something that could kill anything."

"What were you gonna practice on?"

"I don't know Dean. I was going to try it in some type of controlled environment. I had no idea it would fall out of my pocket when I was hit over the head with a rock."

Sam looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I healed it. Thank you."

Dean scoffed and rubbed his eyes. "Tor, you're gonna have to get more familiar with the lore. It almost cost lives."

Cas looked at him somewhat defensively, "Dean, her training…"

"This isn't training, Cas. Yeah, she can fight. But she can't hear a thing unless she knows of it. That's gonna cause problems. Because, for some reason, obscure little sons of bitches are crawling out of the woodwork, and we gotta be as prepared as possible. So, when we get back home, you are gonna hit the books."

"And kid," Dean looked toward Jack.

Jack cocked his head to indicate he was paying attention.

"You're gonna have to learn to control those powers of yours. The golden eye thing, gotta figure it out. Your Aunt there can control the purple now, so she'll teach you."

Jack nodded.

"So, Mister Winchester, which am I to do first? Study every mythology ever or teach my nephew to control his glow?" Victoria smiled sarcastically.

"Both." Dean returned the sarcastic smile.


	33. Part 2: Chapter 8

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying this story! I would love to hear from you guys about any suggestions you may have or any additions you would like to see! I want y'all to enjoy this story as much as possible and would love to include any and all of y'alls ideas! Please comment or pm me! _

**_Thank you so, so much to all the wonderful followers / reviewers / and those who chose to favorite this tale! It means so much as an author to see a follow / favorite / review in my inbox it is so exciting! Thank you so much for reading!_**

**_Chapter Warnings: _**_Jack is learning how to control his powers, and Victoria ends up in a not too great situation. There is only slight violence in this chapter, and some angst of course. Victoria teaches Jack to control his anger in a way that she doesn't really agree with but she can't seem to think of another way. _

_This chapter is where the beginning of the main action for part two begins. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Show, Movie, Song, and/or Book(s) referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 8

Scream.

Victoria Doyle was sitting in what she began to describe as the 'main room' of the bunker. It could probably be called a library, but it served as their living room. She thought they should invest in a couch. Dean had gathered a bunch of books about mythological creatures, monsters, et cetera, plopped them on the table, pulled a chair out, smiled at her sarcastically and left the room.

Victoria was absently-mindedly reading about gargoyles as Jack walked in. He sat across from her and opened another one of the books Dean placed on the table.

Victoria studied him. His eyes were bright, energetic. She knew it was strange, but he looked like a combination of her sister and Castiel. She smiled sadly at the thought of her sister. Cas had made her family think she was killed suddenly in a car crash and the body was so mangled it couldn't be salvaged. Sometimes Victoria couldn't shake the image of Abel touching his Mother's urn at her memorial. No one there knew she went. Well, she didn't really go, Castiel took her and they were able to remain unseen together. It was only for a few moments, before they left the safe house, but those few moments would stay with her forever.

"Aunt Victoria?"

Victoria was shaken from her reverie, "Yes?"

"Do you listen to Dean because he's older than you?"

Victoria scoffed. "The only reason I listen to Dean, Jack, is because sometimes he is right. I do need to focus on learning more about obscure creatures because we can possibly save more lives that way. And you need to focus on controlling your powers. He was right on both counts, which is why I am reading about monsters."

"And me?"

Victoria leaned back in her chair.

"Before the fire started, how did you feel?"

Jack slightly squinted his eyes in thought. "I felt strong."

"Were you angry, or frustrated?"

Jack quickly took in a shallow breath. "Dad kept telling me I could move the pencil with my mind. He kept encouraging me, telling me that he knew I could do it, and it was okay if I didn't get it on the first try. I don't think I was angry or frustrated. I wanted to do what he asked. But instead, the pencil, and everything else caught on fire."

Her nephew almost burned the place down because he wanted to appease. What would happen if he were to scream?

But they couldn't walk on eggshells around him. That was no way to live. That was not an environment in which to thrive.

"Let's go."

Jack looked at her quizzically.

"You and me, and some of these books. Let's go."

Jack nodded as he went to go pack.

* * *

"I need to see the possibilities of his anger."

Sam looked concerned as Dean smacked the counter hard.

"No! Tor, that's a suicide mission."

Victoria looked at the eldest Winchester. "I need him in a controlled environment. Away from people, where I can see the extent of his power."

"I'll go with you."

Victoria smiled at Sam. "No, I'm sorry, Sam, but you are much too precious to be around whatever it is I am going to try to evoke. Please understand that."

Sam's nostrils flared slightly as he pursed his lips and nodded solemnly.

Dean took Victoria's arm and escorted her out of the kitchen all the way into his room and closed the door.

"You're freaking killing me here. Dammit Tor, Sam was a mess when you were gone, what's he gonna do huh? When Jack's whatever the hell it is kills you?"

"You told me to help him control it. I cannot teach him here. You must understand that."

Dean rubbed his eyes. "Cas taught you here."

"I am no threat to humans. Yeah, I boiled a Demon's blood, but I am no harm to you. A human got the better of me with a rock!" Victoria was yelling now and didn't notice Sam opening the door.

"Umm, Jack's ready to go." Sam nodded sadly.

Victoria walked away from Dean and stood in front of Sam. She took his face in her hands. "I promise you Sam Winchester, I am not leaving you. I will never leave you of my own volition. I think Dean's right about fearing Jack to a degree, and I just want to see how I can help, but I can't risk you."

"I understand." Sam kissed her forehead as she moved her hands from his face to around his waist.

* * *

Mary put a salad on the table as she sat down. "Did Victoria say where they were going?"

Sam shook his head sadly.

Dean looked at his brother, "Sammy, she's fine. This isn't like she's in another world or time or whatever. You can call her."

"I tried." Sam quickly smiled as if it were all right, but that smile meant anything but 'all right'.

"Ezekiel would know where she is Sam, if you become too concerned."

Sam looked at the angel. "Thanks, Cas."

* * *

"No one lives here?"

Victoria looked at her Nephew. "No, it's uninhabitable."

"We are inhabiting it."

Victoria chuckled. "You flew us here. It would be impossible for a human to survive in this land, it is not sustainable for human life. There is nothing living around for miles."

Jack nodded and adjusted his backpack. "So, what do we do?"

Victoria closed her eyes. "This will not be pleasant, Jack. And I hope that after, you will be able to forgive me."

Jack cocked his head inquisitively.

Victoria fought the tears stinging her eyes. "You are the reason my sister is dead."

"Aunt Victoria, I…"

Victoria walked closer to him. "You are the reason I can't be with Sam. You have ruined everything. You have destroyed the natural balance, you.."

"Stop, please…" Jack was backing up and he could feel a bubble rise in his throat.

"No, because you want to know why? Because you have made my life miserable, and you deserve to know it."

"Stop."

"You are nothing but an abomination who does not deserve to be on this earth, you…"

"STOP!"

Jack's eyes flashed brightly as Victoria closed her eyes and braced herself by crouching down on the ground. When she got up she saw scorch marks as far as her eye would let her.

Jack was sitting on the desert ground, covering his eyes and crying. Victoria sat next to him and put her arms around him.

"I am so, so sorry Jack. I did not mean any of those things I said, not a one."

"Why?"

"Look around you."

Jack uncovered his eyes and wiped them with his sleeve. "I did this?"

"Yes, and anything human in your path would have been destroyed. Actually anything besides me, I believe."

"Dad?"

Victoria nodded. "I believe so. I am impervious to Angelic or Demonic attacks unless they are in physical combat. That is why I brought you out here. And that it why I hurt you. And Jack, I am so sorry, I needed you to see."

"All those things are true."

"No. they're not. You mean more to me than anyone else ever has. I am very honored to be your Aunt." Victoria smiled at him.

"I did kill Mom."

"No. And your mom's in Heaven. She's happy. And I think one day, when we figure all this out, how this Angelic side works exactly, you can visit her."

Jack smiled, "Really?"

Victoria nodded.

Jack quickly lost his glee. "How do we keep this from happening?"

"Self-control."

Jack nodded. "Self-control."

Victoria stood up. "Now, please take us back to our cabin where it is not one hundred and twenty degrees."

* * *

Sam smiled when he answered his phone. "Hey."

"Hey."

"I tried to call earlier, I was uh, worried."

"I'm sorry, we were in Australia."

"What?"

"I had to go somewhere that no humans were. What better than the middle of Australia?"

"What happened?"

Victoria turned on her side in her bed. "Sam, he scorched the earth for miles around."

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine, not even a scratch. Which I thought might be the case. I'm going to work with him fairly intensely to trigger the self-control. I would like if you two kept in contact several times a day. You are good for him." Victoria paused, "And me."

Sam smiled. "I miss you, Tor."

Victoria bit her lip to keep from crying, but her voice still cracked. "I miss you too, Sam."

* * *

"Not a scratch?" Dean asked before taking a sip of beer.

Sam shook his head. "She said she thought that might be what would happen."

"That does make sense. Victoria is immune to Angelic attacks."

"Yeah, Cas, but she couldn't have known that."

Sam snickered at his brother. "Really Dean. You're criticizing her for the possible martyr play?"

"Look Sammy," Dean put his beer on the table, "She's your girl, okay? She's a badass, but she's your girl. So yeah, even though I've done it, I'm criticizing her for the martyr play." Dean smiled, rolled his eyes, and drank more beer.

Cas looked deep in thought. "I feel that as Jack's Angelic parental figure, I should assist Victoria in teaching Jack to harness his self-control."

"Tor said 'no', okay? Sorry Cas, not happening."

Cas looked at his friend. "Dean, he is my responsibility."

"No, he's not. He's all of our responsibility. But right now, he's with his Aunt. Who is the only person who can't be set on fire by him. So, end of story."

Dean finished his beer and left the table. Sam and Cas shrugged at each other.

* * *

Victoria and Jack sat across from each other at a small dining table in an eat in kitchen. Victoria was able to rent the cabin on the spot from a grateful realtor whose daughter was nearly the victim of a werewolf attack. She made sure to purchase the rental insurance.

"So, your anger shows but you don't have to act on it?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes."

"I don't understand."

Victoria hoped no one would look at her search history. She watched as Jack read some of the atrocities happening in the world. She watched as his eyes flashed gold and then she quickly extinguished the fire that somehow started on her tablet. Surprisingly, it was okay.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry Jack. I wish you didn't have to see any of this."

Victoria breathed in deeply. "What do you feel, right before?"

"Like I swallowed an entire hamburger without chewing."

Victoria knew that feeling. "Okay, next time, I want you to close your eyes and soon as you feel that in your throat. And then I want you to pretend like you're swallowing water."

"Okay…"

Victoria slid the tablet back to him, this time it was a picture. Jack immediately closed his golden eyes. There was still a flame, but it was smaller.

"Good."

Jack opened his eyes and Victoria was happy to see they were back to their normal color.

It took four hours of pictures and horrors before there was no flame. Victoria wasn't sure if she helped or broke him.

* * *

They were on the couch watching a movie when she looked at him. "I don't want you to think any of those things are normal. Those things are not what happens on a regular basis. There are so many good people in the world Jack, and you are one of them."

He looked at her sadly and nodded. He smiled as he answered a FaceTime from Sam.

"Hi Uncle Sam!"

"Hey Jack. How did it go today?"

"It was hard. Aunt Victoria said I did well though."

"That's good."

"Yeah! There's a lot of bad things in the world."

Sam was not prepared for that. He shifted in his chair. "Yeah, there are. But, there's a lot of good too." His eyes kind of squinted as he looked at his nephew's too-innocent face.

"Yeah. I think we will be able to come home soon!"

"Really?"

Jack nodded happily. "I learned to not set things on fire accidentally. I think that was one of the requirements."

"You're a fast learner, Jack. I'm proud of you."

Victoria smiled at how Jack beamed at Sam's compliment.

"Good-night Uncle Sam."

"Good-night Jack."

Victoria looked at her nephew. "So, when we get back home, do you think we should ask everyone about getting a cat?"

Jack hugged her and decided to look for adoptable cats in their area.

Victoria was glad to have made him happy after what she had to do to help him practice his self-control. Besides, she thought a pet might teach empathy.

* * *

Jack was already sitting on the couch browsing through adoptable cats when Victoria got up. He had already made her coffee. She smiled as she poured it.

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go out today?"

He nodded.

* * *

Victoria chuckled as Jack was tasting freshly squeezed pomegranate juice at the farmer's market. "This is unlike anything I have had before."

The vendor smiled. "It's extremely healthy. One of nature's superfoods."

"Superfoods." Jack repeated the words as studied the juice. "Can we get some?"

Victoria nodded as she handed the woman a ten-dollar bill. Victoria added the bottle to their bag.

"I have to use the bathroom."

Victoria nodded at her nephew. "Okay, I'm going to be right over there looking at the tomatoes. We should probably think about getting something for dinner."

Jack nodded as he headed to the bathroom.

Victoria was trying to find a few ripe, but not too ripe, tomatoes as she felt something like a mosquito hit her neck. She reached up with her hand to swat at it but grabbed an empty syringe instead. She began to look around in panic mixed with sudden onset vertigo as a man grabbed her from behind casually.

"There you are honey" he said as he stealthily injected another larger syringe into her side. Victoria Doyle felt herself fall limp into his arms and that was all she remembered.

* * *

"Aunt Victoria?" Jack called for his Aunt by the tomatoes. He looked around in confusion. He tapped the vendor on the shoulder to get him to turn around.

"Can I help you?"

"Umm, yes. My Aunt was over here looking at your tomatoes. Do you know where she went?"

"Oh yeah, I guess she wasn't feeling too good and her husband took her."

Jack wondered how Sam got there. But he wasn't her husband. He didn't think. "Sam?"

"I don't know, some stocky blonde. About your height."

Definitely not Sam. Oh no. Jack could feel panic rise up in his throat. He closed his eyes, swallowed, and counted to ten. He also took three deep breaths for good measure.

When he opened his eyes, he looked down and saw a small vial and their grocery bag. He picked those items up as calmly as he could, walked to an inconspicuous place, and flew himself home.

* * *

"Sam!" Jack called, or yelled, as soon as he entered the bunker. He was taking deep breaths and was controlling himself as best as he could manage. They did not train for this.

Sam came running into the room, gun drawn, followed by Dean and Cas. Cas' coat was flying in the wind and Jack thought that looked funny.

"Jack." Sam put his gun back in his waist band. "What's wrong, where's Tor?"

"I don't know. We were getting food, and I went to the bathroom and I came back and found this."

Jack handed the vial to Sam.

Dean kicked a chair when he saw what was in his brothers' hand. "Son of a Bitch!"


	34. Part 2: Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so, so much for the follows / favorites / reviews! They mean so much as the author of this story! I would love to hear what you guys think and would like to see in future chapters! I am open to suggestions! I want y'all to enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it!_**

_Chapter Warnings: This chapter goes into some gory details, it is pretty violent in sections. There is also some emotional pain as well._

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV shows, movies, books, and/or songs that may be referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 9

Whispers.

Victoria Doyle soon learned that every time she opened her eyes she was injected with more tranquilizer. She could tell she was hooked up to an IV of some sort while sitting in a chair that felt as if it were bolted to the floor. Her wrists and ankles were bound. She attempted to pray, but she knew it would be futile, because wherever she was at was warded. She kept her eyes closed to avoid extra drugs and listened.

There were no supernatural creatures around. She was being held captive by two humans and a copious amount of drugs.

"Why can't he show up here huh?"

"I don't know, I guess he's afraid she'll know."

"I don't get it, she's not so tough. Why is he afraid?"

"Hell, I don't know. I'm just doing my job so I can get paid."

"Yeah, how much longer is this job anyway, huh? We've been here two freaking weeks with this chick, having to put fluids into that creepy IV. It's freakin' weird man."

"Shut up and just do your job. All we have to do is watch her. That's it. With all those drugs, she ain't going nowhere."

* * *

Sam Winchester was good at keeping hope. He had hope the first day, the second, the third, and even on the fourteenth day, he still had hope. But everyone around him could tell he wasn't the same. He hadn't shaved the whole time Victoria was missing, he refused to sleep, instead he followed 'leads' that ended up leading nowhere.

Of course they went all the regular routes. Crowley, Ezekiel, Rowena, and it all led to nothing.

Dean had switched to hard liquor the past few days and Sam started joining him more and more.

Jack had something else to feel guilty about and kept going over in his head how to remain calm.

Cas thought about how he had failed every single being.

Mary was worried about all her boys, and her girl.

They all turned when there was a knock at the bunker door.

Cas had his Angel Blade drawn, Dean, Sam, and Mary had their guns, and Jack had his hand out in front of him as Dean went to open the door.

They all looked shocked when a woman who was no more than five feet two inches tall with black hair slicked back into a very tight ponytail walked through the door.

"Well, hello to you too."

"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded; gun still drawn.

"I am Agent Brooks, CIA." She showed her badge.

Dean scoffed.

"It's real. Unlike yours."

Agent Brooks walked past him and started descending the stairs. She took a seat at the table.

"Where's Vic?"

Everyone looked at each other before putting away their weapons and sitting down.

"How did you…"

Agent Brooks looked exasperated. "Sam Winchester, I am an operative for the CIA. I have worked with Vic in the past and have been keeping tabs on her ever since. In case I needed her. She's good at her job. And she's cute, so."

Dean furrowed his brow, had a look of understanding, nodded, and looked back at the Agent.

"I tried to contact her this morning. Nothing. Not like her. Traced her phone. Brought me here. So, where is she?"

Sam looked at the table, utterly defeated. "We don't know."

"What routes have you taken to locate her?"

"Angels, Demons, Witch."

Agent Brooks shook her head. "Did you try the police?"

Everyone looked confused.

"No." Dean finally replied.

Agent Brooks walked around the bunker liked she had lived there all her life. It was this sense of command the Winchesters were good at themselves but didn't like in others.

"Thanks, Frank." Agent Brooks put her phone in her pocket. "There were cameras in the parking lot of the farmers' market. Local authorities are sending me the video now."

"I tried to get a look at the footage, there was nothing."

Agent Brooks looked at the unshaven, slightly un-kept man. "Tape gets replaced every night and the footage is on hard copy."

Sam nodded. He was tired.

Dean put his hand on his brothers' shoulder. "We'll get her."

"Hell yeah we will."

Sam sadly snickered at Agent Brook's determination.

Agent Brooks pulled up the video camera footage on Sam's laptop. She kept scanning until she saw a man practically dragging a woman into a car. "Bingo."

Sam swallowed hard when he saw Victoria being shoved into the back of an SUV.

Agent Brooks pulled her phone back out. "Yeah, Frank, I have plates." She waited a few moments before saying, "Yeah, got it, thanks."

"Okay, so that SUV belongs to a rental company in Kentucky. Good news is that it was found abandoned in a forest in Colorado two days ago. My guess is we should start checking out places around there. They couldn't have taken her too far on foot." Agent Brooks looked at Jack and Cas. "I didn't ask too many questions with Vic because I didn't want to know, but I think you two are special, so if you have a way of getting there faster, I'd do that. I'll text you addresses from here as I get them."

Dean and Sam kissed Mary good-bye before going out to the cars.

"Umm, Jack and I will take the Mustang. You and Cas go in your car."

Dean looked sideways at Jack as he was talking to Castiel by the Impala.

"Sam, I don't know, the kid, he's dangerous."

"Dean, his Aunt was kidnapped practically in front of him. He held it together and he did what he needed to do. I trust him."

Dean nodded. "Okay, yeah, you're right. He handled it well, I'll give him that."

"Do we just drive?"

"Yeah, until we get addresses from Agent Scully in there."

Sam sighed and scratched his head. He didn't even reply, he just walked to the 'Stang.

* * *

The less Victoria Doyle moved, the less drugs she was given. She could feel herself becoming stronger as she pretended to be asleep. Sometimes she was asleep, and that gave her strength too. She was waiting for them to mess up. They were human, after all, so all she had to do was wait.

She could tell they were playing cards by the sound of shuffling.

"Straight flush."

She heard change being scooted.

"Son of a Bitch!" The other one muttered.

She heard a phone vibrate.

"He'll be here tomorrow."

"No crap?"

"Yeah, so, we can leave this stink hole."

"Thank God."

"Yeah, no joke."

She heard one scoot their chair back and walk towards her. She kept her eyes closed as he grabbed her hair to pull her head up. He got really close to her face and whispered, "We are not gonna have to take care of your dumb, stupid, useless ass anymore, you annoying bitch."

Victoria snapped her eyes open and smiled evilly before sinking her teeth into his neck. He struggled but she wouldn't let go. She bit down as hard as she could and ripped her head back. She spit out the chunk of neck and watched as his hand grasped his throat futility. Blood was spewing and she felt it trickle down her neck. She spit again as she snapped the chains binding her wrists and ankles, she ripped the IV out of her arm as she looked toward the man at the table.

The other man was still sitting in his chair, shocked. He couldn't move. Victoria smiled widely at him, blood escaping her mouth as she did so. The man scrambled to his feet and began to run. Victoria chased after him, eyes glowing.

Before they took off into the woods, Victoria took the phone off the table and shoved it into the pocket of what was left of her pants.

She knew under normal conditions she would easily chase that man down, but the drugs were still in her system and she was not fully herself yet. She stopped her chase when she heard familiar thoughts.

Dean was standing by where the rental car would have been. He heard leaves crunching and drew his gun quickly.

A barefoot, blood-soaked Victoria stood in front of him.

"Dean?"

"Tor?!" Dean put his gun back in his belt. He hugged her.

Instinctively, she pushed him off. Cas steadied him and Dean looked at her.

"What the hell happened, Tor?"

Victoria was struggling to have her wits about her. She felt a little like an animal in a cage. The drugs were wearing off and leaving holes where they once were. She started scratching the holes, drawing blood.

Dean backed up slowly. "Cas?"

Castiel looked helpless. "You know I cannot help her."

"You can heal her sometimes, right?"

Castiel nodded. He slowly approached Victoria. He reached out his hand to touch her forehead. She grabbed it instead, twisting him to the ground. Castiel quickly recovered, grabbed her, pulled her on top of him and wouldn't let go. Victoria struggled as she tried to break free from his grasp. Her eyes were burning as were Castiel's. Victoria eventually succumbed, laying limp with tears streaming down her face in his arms.

Dean's eyes were brimming with tears, but he didn't let them escape.

"What did they do to her?"

"I can attempt to find out."

Dean shook his head. "No, when she's better, she'll tell us if she wants."

Cas nodded.

"I gotta call Sam." Dean got his phone out of his pocket.

"Dean."

Dean looked toward his friend who was still on the ground. "What?"

"I don't think Victoria would enjoy Sam seeing her like this. I will take her to her apartment, clean her, everyone can meet there, later. After I call."

Dean reluctantly agreed.

* * *

Victoria Doyle woke to Castiel sitting beside her bed. She was in her pajamas and everything smelled clean. She closed her eyes again, assuming this was some drug-induced dream.

Castiel placed one of his hands on top of hers. She opened her eyes again. He smiled at her.

"You're home, and safe Victoria."

She turned to face him. Everything was spinning. Cas handed her a glass and four aspirin.

She swallowed them painfully. She rubbed her throat and wondered why it tasted metallic.

"How?"

Cas looked down at his hands. "You escaped. We found you in the woods, I brought you home."

"How did I escape?" It all came rushing back to her.

"Oh no." She swallowed, the metallic taste still there. "I ripped out a man's throat with my teeth." She started to dry heave.

Cas gently pushed her back down. "It's okay. You did what you had to do."

"Did Sam see?"

Cas shook his head. "No, just me and Dean."

Victoria shut her eyes, then suddenly opened them. "Did I attack you?!"

Cas shook his head. "No." He paused as he looked at her uncertain face. "Everyone is downstairs waiting for you, if you feel up to seeing them."

Victoria nodded. She could still feel the holes, but they weren't as prevalent.

* * *

Jack's face lit up when he saw his Aunt. He hugged her tightly. She tried to return the embrace just as warmly, but it felt as if something in her had been extinguished. She was happy to see him, at least she thought she was, but something was missing.

Sam scanned her eyes before touching her. He could tell something was 'off'. "Hey, Tor."

"Sam." She barely whimpered.

"It's okay."

"I don't know what's wrong."

Sam smiled sadly. "It's okay."

"I killed someone."

Sam wanted to hug her. He wanted to make it all better, but he could tell she wasn't ready for that. "It's okay."

Dean couldn't take it anymore. He went outside and Cas followed him.

* * *

"Dammit, Cas."

"Dean, it will just take time."

"What the hell happened to her in there? She's a freaking Chosen One, she can snap and angels explode. And a human, a human does whatever this is to her? She attacked you, Cas."

"There is a great deal of magic in her. Along with regular human tranquilizers. A great deal of them, I might add. Whatever is behind this knew what it was doing." Cas handed Dean the phone. "She had this on her." Cas squinted, "I think it belonged to the one she killed."

Dean tried unlocking it. "Son of a Bitch!"

"I already attempted that, Dean. I thought we might give it to Agent Brooks."

Dean rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, good idea. I'll uh, call her."

* * *

"I enjoyed it."

Sam looked over at Victoria with a gentle questioning glance.

"Killing him."

Sam put his hand on her side. "Is this okay?"

Victoria nodded.

"You escaped, Tor. You had to."

"I wanted to kill the other one."

Sam didn't know there were more than one. "What?"

"The other one. I chased him down like some rabid animal, until I heard Castiel in the woods. It distracted me."

Sam Winchester decided to plan a hunt of his own.

"I think something they gave me made me wrong."

"Wrong?"

Victoria nodded. "I don't feel anything. Like this." She put her hand on top of Sam's on her side. "This is fine, but it doesn't offer me comfort. It used to. I said it was okay because I knew it gave you comfort."

Sam closed his eyes in emotional pain, he tried to brush it off. "You're perfect the way you are. But, Cas said there was some magic in you he was trying to sort through. That may be what it is."

Victoria nodded. "I hope so. You made me feel warm. Sam, I've been cold ever since."

Dean didn't want to agree to let Sam sleep in the same room as Victoria, but he could not be dissuaded. Dean understood, he would have been the same way. But, as a safety measure, he asked Cas if he could go all 'incognito' and stay with them. Of course, Cas agreed.

Castiel leaned back in his chair as he watched Victoria. He closed his eyes as he realized what the magic coursing through her veins was doing.


	35. Part 2: Chapter 10

_A/N: Thank you so so much for reading this tale! I hope you are enjoying it!_

**_Thank you so much to all the followers / reviewers / and people who made this story a favorite. I would love to hear from y'all about what you think, which characters you would like to see, and/or any suggestions you may have for the story. I want y'all to enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Thank you so, so much for your support!_**

_Chapter Warnings: Victoria faces the possibility of a relapse, some violence. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sherlock Holmes, or any other TV show, movie, books, and/or song that may be referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 10

Broken Halos

Dean rubbed his face with the hand that wasn't holding a glass of liquor. "What are you saying, Cas? She has no soul?"

Castiel sat across from his friend at a bar not far from Victoria's apartment. "No, Victoria's soul is present, I can sense it, it is as if it is being cloaked, or covered."

"So, it's not working?"

Cas nodded. "More or less."

"Which is it, more or less? Because dealing with a no soul hunter is not a good time. Been there, done that, don't want to watch a rerun."

"At this point, I think it's less."

"Of course it is. Damn it. We just can't win. Get Tor back, great, she gets kidnapped, get her back, no soul. Fan frickin tastic. We gotta get Rowena, see if we can get the magic lifted."

"She has a soul Dean, she just does not have full access to it."

"Right. But why? Why would someone want her to not have access to her soul? Why would that be an advantage? What's the angle?"

Castiel shrugged. "What is she without a soul?"

Dean shook his head, "The ultimate supernatural killing machine. But again, why?"

"I do not know. There is an agenda at play, we just have to find out what it is."

"Do we get Sam in on this or no? And you know we can't have her around the kid right now, right?"

Cas nodded in reluctant agreement.

* * *

Victoria couldn't sleep, she thought she might wander down to the kitchen to get something to eat, but when she got there, she also discovered she wasn't hungry.

She saw Jack sleeping peacefully on the couch. She decided to go out.

Sam stirred when she went back upstairs. "Tor?"

"I'm fine, I just need some air."

Sam turned to look at her. "Alone?"

Victoria nodded. "I'm sorry."

Sam gave a pained, slight smile. "It's okay."

Victoria Doyle knew that it was in fact not okay, but she also knew that for some reason she could not determine, she did not care. She put on some clothes and sat on the edge of the bed before leaving.

"I'll be safe."

She saw Sam nod from the side of her vision.

* * *

"I have not seen you in a hell of a long time."

Victoria sat on a stool and faced the young, bearded bar tender. "It has been too long, hasn't it? You know, I never knew your name."

"Colten."

"Right. Cusp of Millennial slash Gen Z culture, apt name."

Colten nodded in what he considered polite agreement.

"Colten, I have a problem."

This man had no idea what he was in for.

"You see, I gave up 'drinking'," Victoria did air quotes, "Because in my line of work, people's lives were at risk because I wasn't giving the job 'my all'."

Colten nodded with feigned understanding.

"But right now, I feel empty. Just as if my whole entire body was an empty shell. I mean, I know I shouldn't be here. Downhill slope and all. But downhill to where exactly? Is this emptiness just going to subside?"

Colten filled his cheeks up with air. "Is there someone I can call for you, maybe?"

Victoria looked at him. "Really, Colten?"

He shrugged.

Dean looked up from his drink and scanned the bar. His eyes stopped on the World's only supernatural consulting detective.

"Seriously?"

Dean nodded at Colten as he pulled Victoria off the stool and towards his and Cas' booth. He slid in after her.

"What are you doing here, Tor?"

"Getting manhandled apparently."

Dean let go of his grip on her.

"I wanted to feel something, Dean, okay? Something's wrong. And I have a feeling that is what the two of you are here discussing. I could just listen in, but out of respect, I turned that 'off' once I woke up in my bed with Castiel by my side."

"Liquor isn't the answer."

Victoria looked at Dean's empty glass and gave him a questioning "really?" look.

"Not for you."

Victoria looked to Cas. "What is wrong with me?"

Castiel hesitated. "It is the magic that is coursing through your veins. I am not entirely sure how it works, but it…"

He was interrupted by Dean, "Makes you more angel, less human."

Cas gave him a slightly confused expression.

Victoria nodded. "That would explain a great deal. The utter lack of feeling." She paused, thinking. "But, when I would read Angel's thoughts, it wasn't as if there was nothing. They did not have a void."

Dean pursed his lips together and thought quickly. "Right. I'm guessing that's because they were always angels, so they didn't have humanity to lose."

"Okay." Victoria accepted that.

Dean looked relieved.

Castiel initially could not fathom why Dean was lying to her. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. To Dean. He didn't want her to think she was losing what she probably considered the most important aspect of herself, her soul. He wanted to be kind. But Castiel knew sugar-coated lies often caused catastrophic problems. Castiel usually acquiesced to Dean's judgement, but he thought this one might call for further discussion.

"The magic can be reversed?"

"Already texted Rowena."

"I am not an angel, I was not meant to be."

Cas looked at her questioningly. Dean, however, knew where her statement was leading.

"I cannot tolerate the nothingness." Victoria unintentionally put her hand to her chest, "Not after knowing what it felt like to be so full. It is as if there is an echo of what was."

Dean decided that having a spelled soul was worse than having no soul at all.

Victoria looked at her human companion. "I'm cold, all the time. From my knowledge of your personality, you are going to attempt to take the role of 'babysitter'."

Dean glowered at her.

"I didn't say it was bad thing. I am trying to process this without injuring the familial bond we've made. What I desire to do, and what I know I should probably do, are two very conflicting things in my head right now. And you are going to try and be my Jiminy Cricket, because that is what you do. And I suppose, right now, that is what I need. So, okay, yes, no liquor. Maybe Rowena can lift this magic. Hopefully. Because the drugs are wearing off, which is causing me to feel intensely. Not emotionally, but physically. And unless I can overpower this with something stronger, something that your family used to provide, something that I provided for myself for years as well, I do not know what I will do."

Dean licked his lips and gave Cas a quick glance before continuing. "I get it, Tor. You uh, need a distraction. Emotional ones are out, so uh, how about mental ones?"

Victoria looked at him askew.

"Let's find out why someone or something did this to you in the first place."

Victoria nodded. "A case?"

"Yeah, sound good?"

"Why not?"

* * *

Sam watched as Victoria stirred her coffee. He had never seen her not drink it at all.

"Did I put too much cream in it?"

Victoria quickly looked at him. "No. It is the same as always."

Sam swallowed and nodded sadly. He excused himself and went to find his brother.

* * *

"What's going on Dean?"

Dean kicked the chair out opposite him indicating for Sam to sit down.

Dean rubbed his forehead and looked at his brother. "I think you know Sammy."

"I don't know."

"Yeah, you do."

Sam slightly snorted and nodded in frustration and grief.

"Is it gone, or?..."

"No, it's being cloaked, according to Cas. It's like it's there, but uh, she doesn't have access to it."

"You weren't gonna tell me?"

"Yeah, when Rowena got here with all her books, and ingredients, after she did whatever to that vial of Tor's blood Cas took her, yeah I was gonna tell you. Why before? Why put you through that?"

"Because I needed to know? Because she's Tor?"

Dean rubbed his eyes. "She doesn't know, Sam. I thought you would tell her."

"She doesn't know?"

"No, I told her that the magic in her made her more Angel, less human. She bought it. Seems a bit easier than telling her she's operating without a soul. Don't know, seemed less damaging. She's still being careful."

Sam decided to drop the anger he had at Dean for the moment. He was going to forgive him anyway, so why make it more difficult than it had to be.

"So, why would something want that?"

Dean shook his head. "Right? It's just weird. The girl's more common sense than soul anyway, so what advantage does this get whatever did this?"

Sam leaned back in the chair. "Its gotta be us, Dean."

"What?"

"She's attached to us, right? That's gotta be in the way of something."

Dean thought about who they hadn't seen in a while.

"Son of a bitch."

* * *

"Holy fire, brother?"

Castiel shrugged.

"All right, you son of a bitch, fess up!"

"I, in all honesty, Dean Winchester, have no inkling as to what you are referring. So, either enlighten me, or extinguish this fire. Or both, preferably."

"Tor. You had her kidnapped and spelled her up so she could be your perfect little Chosen One again."

Ezekiel's eyes glowed furiously, the flames flickered, his vessel's nostrils' flared. "Victoria cares for you, mortal, but I assure you, if you ever suggest that I would harm her again, I will watch you burn and scatter your soul from here to the ends of the universe."

Castiel stepped forward, but Dean stopped him.

Dean and Cas looked surprised when Sam and Victoria walked up behind him. Dean looked to Sam as if to ask 'what happened' but Sam just shrugged.

Victoria looked to Dean. "You think it was my Guardian?"

"It made sense, Tor. Sever your emotional ties, you know, be the perfect Chosen One?"

Victoria cocked her head at the angel.

"Victoria, I can…"

Victoria silenced him with a finger to her lips. She walked through the ring of fire and placed her palm on Ezekiel's forehead. He fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Victoria's eyes flashed dark purple. She took her hand from his forehead, wiped it on her jeans, and walked back through the circle.

"Not him."

She continued walking away from the field, and back toward the apartment.

Ezekiel looked up at her, his arms on the ground, trying to regain his strength. Castiel extinguished the fire and went to his brother.

"I am sorry."

Ezekiel wiped the drop of blood escaping from his vessel's nose. "What can I do?"

* * *

Dean told Victoria to stay away from Jack and Mary for the time being. She understood having to stay away from Jack, her emotional well-being was probably not the best for his fragile state, but she didn't understand Mary. Did Dean consider her a threat to humans?

Sam followed Victoria into her room and shut the door behind him. "Tor, what was that?"

Victoria sat on the bed and looked at him. "I don't understand?"

"What did you do to Ezekiel?"

Sam took a chair from the table set they put in her room and sat across from her.

"I got what I needed to from his memories to see if he was the one who was behind my kidnapping and drugging."

"Why did he scream?"

"I suppose it was painful."

Sam closed his eyes and swallowed.

"That was the only way I could know for certain, Sam. There was no other choice."

"What if it had been Cas?"

"Oh." Victoria thought. "Well, I wouldn't want to upset Dean, or do anything to permanently damage the relationship I have with any of you, because I anticipate the magic being reversed. I would ask Dean how he would have wished for me to proceed."

Sam wasn't sure if that answer made him feel better or worse.

Dean came bursting through the door. "What the hell was that?"

Victoria looked sideways at him. "You had him trapped in holy fire, accused him of drugging and torturing me, and then exhibit anger when I answered the question you had been asking?"

"You made an angel fall to his knees and didn't break a sweat. Your fricking Angel, Tor. The one you grieved for years. The one you prayed to come back. That crap cannot happen again."

Victoria simply looked at him. "Fine."

Victoria's phone dinged and she grabbed it off the nightstand. "I have a case."


	36. Part 2: Chapter 11

_A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so very much to all the followers, those who chose to favorite this story, and for the reviews. You guys are truly awesome and make this tale worth writing! I would love to hear y'alls comments and suggestion, or scenes you would like to see!_**

_Chapter Warnings: Some more violence, exploding ammo _

_I do not own Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sherlock Holmes, or any of the other movies, TV shows, books, and/or songs referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 11

Highway to Hell

Dean sardonically laughed. "Yeah, in your condition? You'd probably run off with the monster."

"Dean." Sam sounded both threatening and exhausted.

"Really Sam? You really think it's a good idea for Carrie to go on a case?"

"I was a good hunter when I didn't have my soul, Dean."

"Too good, Sam. It's a no, Tor."

"Beg your pardon, I don't have a soul?"

Sam winced.

Dean balled his hand into a fist, "Son of a bitch!"

* * *

Try as he might, Sam was unable to backpedal. Victoria rushed past them and got in her car. She drove off, leaving Sam and Dean futilely running after her.

"You slipped Sam. Dammit!" Dean hit the kitchen table with his fist.

"I was trying to help her, and, I uh, made it worse. Yeah, I know." Sam sat down at the table and sighed. He just seemed so tired.

Dean felt guilty for his reaction and sat opposite him.

"Look, Sam, I didn't mean it. She was gonna find out sooner or later."

Sam leaned back in his chair, placing one of his hands on the table. "It doesn't matter, Dean."

Dean couldn't bear the look of defeat on his brother.

Suddenly, Ezekiel was sitting at the table with them.

"I have spoken with Holden, he is willing to do whatever he needs to in order to secure Victoria's well-being. Now, that that is settled, where do you propose we begin?"

Sam snorted in a sort of sarcastic half-chuckle. "Well, she's gone, because I let it slip she had no soul. And now we don't know how to reach her. She won't answer her phone."

"I am always able to locate her, Sam."

Sam looked puzzled, "She has the warding."

"That is of no consequence, I am her Guardian."

Dean liked the hopeful look in his brother's eye. "So, we get her, drag her back to the bunker, and lock her up until we can figure this crap out?"

Sam looked pained, "Dean, no. She just escaped being held captive and drugged, there is no way we're doing that to her. And there's no way we can contain her without her being drugged. Really?"

"I don't know what else to do Sammy, she's obviously one bird short of a cuckoo's nest."

"No, Dean."

"I agree with you, Sam. Capturing Victoria after she escaped would be cruel."

"She fried your brain, Zeke."

"Yes, I am aware. I was there."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"No, she just needs to be talked to. She's the most intelligent person we know. Her logic can override this. Ezekiel, you used to appeal to her logic, right? You can convince her."

Ezekiel looked at Sam, "I will be honest with you, I am afraid of Victoria in her current state."

"Damn straight."

Sam looked at Dean reproachfully.

"Sammy, this isn't our Tor. And the sooner you realize that, the sooner we can get her back."

* * *

She wasn't sure why she had ran away. Maybe because they had lied to her. But she didn't really care about that. She didn't think she did anyway. They had overtaken her apartment and she liked her apartment. However, she didn't want to go back to deal with them. She decided to go to where her case was. She could still do her job after all, soul or no soul.

No soul. There was nothing without a soul.

Angels didn't have souls. But they didn't feel empty.

She felt like a void.

Victoria Doyle pulled off to the side of the road to think.

* * *

Ezekiel had decided to write an explanation in a letter and send it to Victoria. As that was all they had, Sam and Dean agreed. Victoria was logical, and logic should win her over, cloaked soul or not.

Rowena and Cas swooped in. All involved were relieved to find out a while ago that Rowena was not in fact dead, as Crowley had thought. Her power of invention had saved her once again. They had become somewhat fond of the witch.

"Oh dear, you poor boys." Rowena put her spell book on the table and looked at Sam and Dean.

"Where's Victoria?" Cas asked, looking around.

Sam exhaled slowly. "She left. I uh, messed up."

Cas narrowed his eyes.

"Sam accidentally mentioned Tor was soulless."

"That's not the case, Samuel, you know Castiel told you that. Her soul is cloaked in black magic, but it is there."

"Black magic?"

Rowena looked at the eldest Winchester. "Indeed, so black in fact, it is evil. The mere fact your lady has not killed the entire population is only a testament to her will-power."

Sam looked as if he had been kicked in the stomach, hard.

"Evil?"

"Yes, dear, evil. Whatever took her, and drugged her, had immense plans for her. That much I know."

"Can you get rid of it, Rowena?"

The witch held up the vial of blood. "Not in this concentration, no. Even attempting such a thing would irrevocably kill her."

Dean continued his questioning, "What do you mean, this concentration?"

"If, somehow, the evil can be lessened, then I think I could try."

"How the hell do we do that? Get Cas to read the Bible to her?"

"I do not think that will work Dean. My voice is not that soothing."

Dean rolled his eyes and Sam was able to slightly chuckle, in spite of everything.

"How do you boys deal with evil on a normal basis?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other.

* * *

Victoria Doyle's thoughts were interrupted when a young woman knocked on her passenger's side window. Victoria leaned over and unlocked the door. The woman got in quickly and locked the door.

"Drive!"

"Excuse me?"

"My crazy, psycho ex is trying to kill me, drive!"

Victoria Doyle did not like someone getting into her car and telling her what to do. No matter what their crazy, psycho ex was intending.

"I will drive when I please. You may stay in here though, if you're quiet."

"Don't you understand?!" The blonde woman shouted, annoyed, scared, and angry. "He's going to kill both of us!" She started crying. "Please drive!"

"Miss, if anyone comes near me with malicious intent, rest assured, I will kill them."

"He has a gun."

Victoria shrugged. "I have two." She paused, and smiled crookedly, revealing one side of her upper teeth. "In fact, I think they are still loaded with explosive bullets. I wonder how they work on humans."

Before Victoria could think too much, an opportunity presented itself in a burly man who aggressively started pounding on her passenger side window.

"Oh, your crazy, psycho ex I presume?"

The girl was screaming too loud to answer. Victoria shrugged, took the keys out of the ignition, put them in her pocket, got out, and locked the door as she closed it.

"I really must insist you stop pounding on my car's glass, you absolute waste of humanity."

"Shut up, bitch! I'll do what I damn well please."

Victoria slowly nodded. "Do you have a firearm?"

"What the hell? Do you want to see it?"

Victoria nodded. "I do."

The man pointed a small caliber pistol at her. "Now, get out of my way. I'll take your car too."

"You see, it's my car. I'm fond of it. And your gun, is small. Mine's bigger."

Victoria pointed her Kimber at him and smiled. "I'm glad I grabbed my coat before I left."

"I don't want to shoot you lady, but I will."

"I believe you."

"Then frickin' move!"

"No, my car."

The man put his finger on the trigger but before he could pull it, Victoria shot him. The gun did still have the exploding bullets in it. Victoria lamented the brains, blood, guts, hair, and nails scattered on her and her Mustang.

"Pity."

Never once did the girl stop screaming as she got out of the car and ran away.

Victoria shrugged and called the local police. She instructed them to bring lots of water. And soap.

* * *

Sam leaned in towards the witch. "You think we can combat whatever is in her with… holy water and salt?"

"You don't think I would have come to you boys without doing my research, do you? Watch." Rowena put a bit of the blood on a plate. It was unusually dark.

"Now this," she said, opening up a small bottle, "is a mixture of holy water and dead sea salt." She put a few drops onto the blood, causing it to separate. One side was black sludge, and the other was the bright red of fresh blood.

"Holy crap. That…" Dean said, pointing to the black sludge, "Is in Tor's blood?"

"I'm afraid so. Which explains why your little Chosen One can bring an Angel she loves to his knees."

"And it is cloaking her soul?"

"Yes, Samuel. Every bit of it."

"And if she drinks the Holy Water and salt?"

"I do not know what will happen exactly, but it should lessen the evil so that I can separate it from her. I'm not quite sure how yet. But I will figure it out."

Sam and Dean nodded.

"Thanks Rowena."

The witch stood to get up. "But, I will not be around her until she is lessened, is that understood?"

"Yup."

"Got it."

"Good. Always a pleasure to help you boys, with nothing in return."

Cas rolled his eyes as they flew away.

"How are we going to get her to drink this, Dean?"

"Hell if I know Sammy, but we'll figure it out."

* * *

They both drew their guns when they heard the front door slam.

Victoria stopped on the stairs when she saw them. "Dramatic, gentlemen."

They put their guns back into their waistbands.

"What the hell happened Tor? Is that a finger in your hair?" Dean almost wretched.

Victoria shrugged. "Probably."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sam. I was pulled over on the side of the road, thinking. And then this woman knocked on my window, got in my car and told me to drive. I didn't want to, so I didn't. She kept screaming, God, it was annoying. Anyway, apparently her crazy, psycho ex was chasing her. He pulled a gun on me, I shot him. Still had explosive bullets. He went boom."

She looked at Dean. "Is the piece of finger large?"

"What do you mean?"

"Will it go down a drain?"

Dean crinkled his nose and shook his head.

Victoria pulled the piece of finger out of her hair and headed towards the kitchen. The brothers soon heard the garbage disposal. They both looked faint.

"You two are awfully squeamish tonight. I received Ezekiel's note. I have a soul, it is just cloaked with magic?"

They nodded.

"And I suppose you want it uncloaked?"

"Don't you Tor? I mean you just put a piece of a man's finger down the garbage disposal. Damn."

Victoria looked at the eldest Winchester. "I do not care about that. However, this void is causing problems. It is unpleasant. I wish it gone, so yes."

"Uh, Rowena thinks she has a temporary solution until she can find a permanent one." Sam took the bottle from his pocket. "You will have to drink this potion every few hours until she can completely remove the magic."

Victoria inspected the bottle. "Looks like salt water."

"I don't know what's in it, Tor. She just gave it to us and said she would supply us with more while she works on a permanent solution." Sam smiled what he hoped was earnestly.

Victoria narrowed her eyes at him. "This will make you happy?"

Sam's voice caught in his throat. "You make me happy. Tor."

"Soul or cloaked soul?"

Sam tried to lie, he did, but everything in his face betrayed him. "Yes."

Victoria couldn't feel. She was unable. But still, somehow, a tiny part of her bright soul was drawn to Sam Winchester's pain. She immediately took the bottle and emptied its contents into her throat. She handed him the empty bottle back.

"I am empty and experience despair, without despair. A void without any possible filler. And yet, your face, your obvious pain, deepens that despair. It is most unpleasant. I hope this works, for you."

Victoria ascended the stairs.

Dean patted Sam on the back. "I'll call Cas and make some more."

Sam nodded, his lips pursed.

* * *

The feelings of extreme physical pain began as Victoria had finished her shower. She barely made it to the toilet in time.

There was no type of food poisoning that compared to this. Violent heaving produced thick, black slime that almost seemed alive. She could not hear Sam banging on the door as her heaving grew more and more loud. Finally, she was done. She passed out on the cold, bathroom floor, oblivious to what was happening.

Sam broke the door down. Victoria was laying on the floor, wrapped in a towel. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. She was cold and clammy, but alive.

He wiped her face with a damp towel and laid down beside her.

Several hours passed, and with each Victoria grew more ill. Her face became pallid, her eyes sunk in, and her lips grew peach.

Dean stood in the doorway with several bottles of water.

"What the hell?"

He put the water on the table and walked over to Victoria.

"I don't know Dean. It's bad, isn't it?"

"Sam?" Victoria muttered weakly.

"Hey."

"Was that holy water and dead sea salt?"

"It was."

Dean looked at him somewhat reproachfully. Sam just sadly shook his head.

"It was evil."

"Yeah, it was. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Am I in a towel?"

"I didn't want to disturb you, so I just put you in bed with it on."

"Oh, can we talk downstairs, with tea?"

Sam slightly smiled, but it was genuine. "Of course."

"I'll be down in a minute."

They worried about leaving her alone in what appeared to be a weakened state, but they knew she was always tougher than she looked.

Sam had her cup waiting on the coffee table when she came down in her pajamas. She had to take slow, measured steps in order to not fall over, but she made it to the couch and snuggled into Sam. She was ever so grateful to feel him next to her.

"Sam."

Sam put his arm around her and kissed her head with the slightest trace of tears in his eyes. "I'm here."

"What I did…"

"It wasn't you."

"I…"

"It wasn't you."

"Ezekiel."

"He's fine."

"But I…"

"Tor, stop beating yourself up, okay? We've all been there."

Dean realized how absurd it was that he even could say that.

"Dean, the case, you and.."

"We'll take care of it, Tor. Can you tell us what happened after you drank the stuff?"

"It's gross."

"Try us."

"I puked up a lot of this black sludge looking stuff, that almost seemed, well, sentient."

"Like it was alive?"

Victoria looked up into Sam's face and nodded. "It was so much. I thought I was going to die."

"How do you feel now?"

Victoria looked at Dean. "Physically? Terrible. Emotionally? Back to normal. All I want is to be around my family. But I can't fight like this, Dean."

"We'll do the fighting for now, and then we'll get you better."

"But whatever did this to me? It's gotta be bad. It knew what it was doing. It wanted me evil. And had I not killed that man when I did, I would've known who it was."

"You were being held prisoner Tor, it's okay."

"Dean, I attacked Castiel."

"Whatever that was, was not you. You would never do that, okay? You were being made into some type of killing machine. Why? I don't know, but we'll sure as hell figure it out. Now, give me your phone and Cas and I will go take care of your case."

"It's on my nightstand."

Victoria coughed slightly as the tea burned her scarred throat. She looked at Sam. "Maybe ice cream instead?"

Sam smiled and went to go get the container and two spoons.


	37. Part 2: Chapter 12

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so much to all the wonderful reviewers, those who chose to favorite this tale, and those who reviewed! It means so much as an author! Please let me know if you have any suggestions or comments or if there is anything you'd like to see in this story! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

_Chapter Warnings: Violence, slight gore, disturbing monster_

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Shows, Movies, Books, and/or Songs referenced in this tale._

Chapter 12

Mr. Sandman

Victoria Doyle and Sam Winchester were watching "The Office" when Sam's phone rang. He put it on speaker.

Dean Winchester sounded upset. "This thing attacks kids."

Victoria looked up at Sam before she spoke. "It kills children?"

"No, it, uh, it takes their frickin' eyeballs."

Sam immediately pulled out his laptop.

Victoria straightened up in the bed. "Oh, I need to be there."

"Tor, you can barely stand up, I just need you and Sammy on the research. Cas can kill whatever it is if we can find the son of a bitch."

"Dean, get Castiel to come get me. I can just as easily lay in a hotel bed. And maybe I can hear it."

"Let me talk to Sam."

"You're on speaker, Dean." Sam looked at his laptop with frustration.

"Right. Look, man, it's your call. You've been with Tor, can she handle being up here?"

"Dean Winchester. I can speak for myself, and yes I can."

Sam smirked at her determination.

"I think we'll have a much bigger problem if Cas doesn't come get her." Sam looked at Tor and smiled.

"Okay. He went to get some food, but right when he gets back."

Dean hung up.

Sam looked at Tor, "You sure you can do this?"

"Sam, it's my job, and the thing is blinding children."

"I'm coming too then."

"Of course?"

Sam chuckled. "So, you're stealing my whole statement into a question thing now?"

"Yes?"

Victoria smiled as best she could. Her body ached with every movement, and every dose of Holy Water and salt seemed to stiffen her joints, but she kept taking it, because she no longer felt empty.

* * *

Victoria Doyle was sitting on the hotel bed with the case files surrounding her. The pictures were horrible and each time she looked at them she teared up.

"I will be able to restore their eyesight."

Everyone looked at the Angel.

"And you're just now telling me this?"

"Dean. I am not here as an Angel, but as a hunter, I thought it would be best to heal them right before we left."

Dean looked exasperated and relieved at the same time. "Right, Cas."

Victoria knew she needed to hear the creature in order to locate it. "I need to skip the next dose of holy water."

"No."

"Dean, it makes me weak. We have a creature removing children's eyeballs. Even with Castiel restoring their sight to them they will have been irreparably traumatized. This cannot continue. I will drink the water again as soon as we are done."

Dean rubbed his face. "That evil sludge in you is fast growing Tor. What if you don't want to drink the stuff again? We can't make you."

Victoria looked at him sternly. "I understand you think I am psychotic when the sludge consumes me. And yes, I make questionable choices. But I am empty. And that, I cannot bear. I will drink the next dose."

Sam looked at his brother. "She'll drink it Dean."

"And I am sure that it will almost kill me, again. But I will gladly do it to avoid Sam's pain, and in order to fill the void. That constantly scratched at me."

Dean put up his hands and slightly frowned, "All right."

"Okay. So, what do we know?"

* * *

Victoria Doyle felt instantly better physically as soon as she missed her dose of holy water. She stretched in order to appreciate the nimbleness of her muscles. Her joints no longer felt stiff and she felt as if her body were her own. It was as if she could feel the sludge strengthening every organ and vein as it filled her body once more. She also felt it covering her soul, and the scratching resurfaced.

Her eyes flashed a deep purple before she jumped off the bed and looked at her shocked companions, who just witnessed her physical transformation.

"Come along boys, we have crime scenes to investigate."

"Um, Tor?"

Victoria turned around to look at Sam. "What?"

"You're in your pajamas."

* * *

Cas and Sam went to quickly get Victoria a change of clothes as Dean would not allow her anywhere near Jack or Mary with her soul cloaked.

"Who knows what they'll bring me back to wear."

"Whatever it is, you'll wear it."

"You're rude when my soul is cloaked."

"Because you're a psychopath."

"Are you rude to every psychopath you encounter?"

Dean rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yup."

"Why does it want eyes?"

"Because it's a creepy monster?"

"There's a reason. It is done too well. And I hear nothing, which lends to the idea of obscurity. We need Sam to talk to the parents."

"Yeah, he's good at that."

"Indeed."

"And you, psycho pants, are talking to no one."

Victoria thought and then nodded. "That nickname sucks. However, you are correct. I should not talk to anyone."

Sam and Cas flew back in. Sam handed Victoria a bag. "I hope I did okay."

"Me too."

Victoria felt a little flicker of something, something that cooled the itching, just for a moment, when she looked in the bag and discovered Sam had picked out the clothes she was wearing the first time they had met.

* * *

Victoria, Dean, and Castiel listened as Sam sincerely interviewed the parents of the first victim, a six-year-old boy named Jonah.

Sam smiled kindly at the couple and leaned toward them. "Mr. and Mrs. Johansen, I know this must be a very difficult situation to discuss, and I am sorry we are asking you to repeat it once more."

Mrs. Johansen tapped on her knee and her husband covered her nervous hand with his. She smiled sadly as she moved her hand in order to intertwine with her husband's.

"Mr. Winchester, we understand you and your colleagues are a special type of law enforcement, and we will tell you what happened again."

Sam nodded solemnly.

"Jonah has been having trouble sleeping lately. It had gotten so bad that he threw tantrums every night before bed. We tried everything we could think of, bedtime stories, lavender, gluten-free diet, but he still just wouldn't go to sleep."

His wife interrupted. "And then…" her voice broke, and it took her a few minutes to recover. "One night, he just went right to sleep. No fuss, we thought we had finally succeeded, but…"

Her husband finished for her, "When we went to wake him up the next morning, his eyes were gone."

Mrs. Johansen broke down into tears. Her husband began to rub circles on her back. Victoria suddenly got up and went to the Impala.

Dean made his apologies and followed her. He found Victoria sitting on the ground in the driveway with the statements and photos strewn about.

"Tor, this is not the place."

"Shh."

"Dammit."

Dean kneeled next to her and began to pick everything up.

"Stop!" Victoria attempted to grab the things back from him, eyes glowing.

"No. These people are going through hell, Tor. You're not gonna make them look at these. Now pick them up and I'll drive you somewhere you can spread them all out. Just get up."

"Fine."

* * *

Dean and Victoria were sitting in the town's library. She had the papers strewn all over the table, garnering weird looks from patrons.

Dean had texted Sam and told them to go to the other interviews without them.

"Look." Victoria put some of the crime scene photos in front of him.

"Yeah?"

Victoria huffed impatiently. "Dean, look at them."

Dean decided to let his anger of having to babysit go as he inspected the photos. He noticed the same pile of some type of substance near the bed in each.

"What the hell?"

Victoria smiled, mouth open, knowingly. Her tongue played over her top teeth. "Sand."

"Sand?"

Victoria put copies of the parents' interviews with the police on top of the pictures. Dean read aloud what Victoria had circled.

"Jonah – sleeping trouble, Marcy – night terrors, Max – bed wetting… So, they all had trouble sleeping?"

Dean sat back in his chair. He pulled out his phone and texted Sam.

"And Sammy just said they all slept like a log the night before their eyes went missing."

Victoria nodded. "So…?"

"Are you enjoying this?"

"A little."

Dean shook his head. "Okay, I'll play to save the kids. Sand, Sleep."

Victoria grinned as she watched his brain work.

"The friggin' Sandman?"

Victoria smiled broadly. "I think so."

* * *

"But isn't he one of the good guys?" Sam asked after they had reconvened in the hotel room.

"Typically. However, there is an old myth to scare children who won't go to sleep that the Sandman will come and steal their eyes. According to a monster wiki, that is."

"Why?" Dean asked the world's only supernatural consulting detective.

"To feed his children on the moon."

"Of course." Dean furrowed his brow and nodded sarcastically. "How do we kill the son of a bitch? And his children? On the moon."

"I do not believe his children are actually on the moon, Dean."

"Thanks Cas."

Sam snorted a laugh.

"I do hear him. However, his thoughts are not exactly cohesive, as I believe he is nocturnal, but he does intend to strike again tonight. I believe, in this case, the idea of the moon is more symbolic."

"So, we find some moon thing in town?"

Victoria looked at the eldest Winchester, "Yes."

Sam and Dean pulled out their computers and Victoria began to look on her phone.

"The billboard."

The men looked at her questioningly.

"On out way to the library, we saw a billboard advertising the moon pie factory in the next town."

"No, he's not feeding eyeballs to his kids in a moon pie factory is he? Ah come on! I like those things!"

Victoria shook her head. "It is too far, no. I believe he lives in the billboard."

Dean rubbed his eye with his hand that was propped up on the hotel's desk. "We have to climb a billboard?"

"Apparently."

"Great."

"Do you believe smiting will work?"

Victoria turned her attention to the youngest brother. "It typically does not fail. However, if we can find an alternate way to annihilate him, that would probably be the safest route."

"What if we shot him with one of your bullets? Do you think he'd explode into sand?" Dean sounded overly excited.

"No, probably just eyeballs."

Dean lost his enthusiasm after Victoria's reply.

"However, those bullets are probably our best course of action after smiting. I will give you each one of my firearms."

Victoria looked at Sam. He was watching her to see if she was 'okay'. She wasn't. She could feel the evil attached to every fiber of her being. Keeping it at a minimum was mentally taxing, and she still felt the itch. She remembered waking up, soul cloaked, worrying that Sam saw her with blood dripping down her chin. She knew that would trouble soulful Victoria. The Victoria she planned to get back after they killed the man in the moon.

"I changed my mind. I will go alone."

"Like hell you will." Dean said, getting up.

Victoria moved his chair with a flick of her wrist so that it hit the back of his knees, forcing him to sit.

"Tor." He said, in a warning tone.

"No. I will go alone. This is an unknown danger. He may be an ancient. We are not sure, folklore does not provide much on the subject. However, it is not for your danger that I am most concerned." Victoria looked to Sam once more. "What I did to Ezekiel will forever be ingrained in your brains. That bothered me. What I must do, I do not want you to see. It will not be one of my normal kills. You must understand."

"No, you must understand. We're a team."

"I have no intention of arguing with you, Dean. You know I am capable of getting my way. However, I will choose not to, in order to not break whatever bond we have. If you insist on following me, I will not stop you. But Sam must not go."

"Tor, I.."

"Sam, even in this state, where I feel evil suppressing my very will, I cannot have you see me as I was. The other me, the souled me, loves you. With all that broken soul. And the little bit of light I feel, with all this darkness, is only because of you. And I know you will say that it will not matter, you will feel no differently towards me, and you probably won't. But the Victoria who was laying on your chest this morning will not be able to look at you. So, please, for her, for me, do not come."

"Yeah, I, uh, I get it." Sam smiled sadly.

Victoria looked hard at Dean. "You will see things you wish you had not." Victoria left the room.

Dean sighed and started to follow her. "Look, uh, why don't you and Cas go and get started on fixing the kids' eyes, huh? Me and uh, Dark Buffy are gonna kick some Sandman ass."

Sam snorted as he closed his laptop. "Dean, be careful."

"I got an evil Chosen One on my side. What could go wrong?"

* * *

"So, even with like this evil sludge crap you still care about Sammy?"

Victoria looked at him. "Apparently."

"And me?"

Victoria sighed. "This is not the time for one of our heart to hearts. Talk to me after I've thrown my guts up. I'll be all weak and pathetic again."

"Pathetic?"

"Yes. Is there any other word for it?"

"Strong as hell?"

"That's three words. And I have become everything I was trained not to be. All for the Winchesters. It's disgusting."

"Wow."

"But it stops the itching."

"Great. We're hydrocortisone."

Victoria didn't respond to his comment.

"By the way, soulful Tor is gonna be real pissed evil cloaked Tor told Sam she loved him for the first time."

Victoria glowered at him. "We are not two separate entities, Dean. She will not be able to come back and kick my ass. I do not enjoy this darkness, but at this time, it is necessary for our goal. We are here."

They pulled up under the billboard. Victoria handed her Kimber to Dean. "Do not get yourself killed. I refuse to explain that to Sam."

Dean rolled his eyes as he followed her up.

The moon on the billboard has a large face on it, and to Dean it was most disconcerting. It had reminded him of the delicious confection, but it was creepy nonetheless. The billboard's two sides were connected by a sort of breezeway. It is here the Sandman had his home.

There was a pile of Sand and on top there laid a large figure, cloaked in black. On his face it appeared as if he was wearing a 17th century plague doctor mask, or that was his face, it was hard to tell. By his side he held a royal purple bag. Full of sand in the day, and freshly plucked eyeballs at night. Next to him were two cribs made entirely of sand. The craftsmanship was incredible. It was upon approaching these two cribs the duo realized the face was in fact not a mask, as the two children looked the same as their father.

The two offspring of the Sandman looked at the intruders and opened their beaks. Or nose, whichever word more aptly fits. They wanted food. Victoria looked at them and tilted her head to the side. She picked one up from its crib and snapped its neck as if it were a chicken. The 'crunch' awoke the father.

The external and internal screaming of the monster was horrifying. With one long arm he pushed Victoria away from the other child, making her fall to the ground.

"Hey fugly!" Dean shouted.

The creature turned to Dean as Dean fired bullet after bullet into him. It did nothing. The Sandman advanced as Dean dropped the gun in favor of the Angel blade. Victoria hopped on the Sandman's back. He screeched with wild fury as he attempted to fling her off.

Victoria's perverse sense of judgment kicked in and she began clawing at the creature's eyeballs. Or what she thought was his eyeballs. She was unable to smite him, although she willed it with all her might. Why couldn't she smite? He must've been an ancient, out of her league. She had other skills though.

She was able to gouge his eyes with her fingernails. He screamed in fiery pain as he flailed around, trying to grasp her. She stabbed him with the angel blade, forcing him onto his back. Like son, like father, she thought, as she put her hands on either side of his head. The loud 'crack' was satisfying, and she smiled as she sat back.

The kid's cries were deafening. All it wanted was food. Victoria looked at it and turned her head to the side. The child's neck cracked, silencing its cries. Dean watched as Victoria tossed the two infants' bodies on top of their father's. She set them all ablaze and watched as they burned. She kind of wished she had a marshmallow.

* * *

Dean didn't speak the entire car ride back to the hotel. Victoria drank the thing of holy water as soon as they got back, and the men went to the lobby to give her some privacy.

Sam noticed his brother's unusual quietness.

"What happened Dean?"

"Doesn't matter Sam. All the kids all right?"

"Uh, yeah. That was a really good part of the job."

"Good."

"She told you not to go Dean."

"I know, all right? I get it. But, she just.."

"She what?"

Cas shook his head. "With respect to Victoria, Dean, do not tell Sam."

Dean looked at his brother. "Your call."

"No, don't tell me." Sam Winchester was curious. But Cas was right, she didn't want him to know.

Victoria walked toward the men and sat next to Sam, leaning her head on his shoulder. She looked at Dean.

"Thank you, for understanding. For being there. They were never going to stop. And I could hear that."

"Yeah."

"I do apologize for what you saw me do, what you went through."

"You warned me, okay? You did. So, let's just leave it there, and go home. And Tor?"

Victoria looked at him with tired and weak eyes as she stood up. "Yes?"

Dean pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear, "You are the furthest damn thing from pathetic."


	38. Part 2: Chapter 13

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so, so much to all of my wonderful readers! The follows / favorites / reviews make this tale worth writing! I would love to hear from y'all about any suggestions or comments you may have. _**

_Chapter Warnings: This chapter is the middle of our action for Part 2, although my chapters have far succeeded what I thought this part would contain. There is some violence in this chapter as well as some angst. _

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Show, Movie, Book, and/or Song referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 13

He's Back…

The mystery of who wanted Victoria as an evil supernatural killing machine plagued the Winchesters. As much as they thought, they could not come to any reasonable conclusion. Dean had to admit, as much as he didn't want to, the evil, cloaked-soul Victoria was a perfect killer. The difference between how she killed the hobgoblin and the sand babies hardly ever left his mind. The image of her throwing the babies onto the corpse of their father bothered him. There was no compassion there, no kindness. And yet, in all that, she was able to think of Sam? Ezekiel must've been right about their souls. Even cloaked the pieces reached out to each other. The eldest Winchester took Victoria's illness the hardest. He internalized it, as he did most things.

Sam's room had been the family's new hangout spot, since Victoria had to spend most of her time resting. They bought a couch to put in there and Jack was usually at the table with some type of homework Victoria had given him. Her heart ached for the boy, and she wanted him to be as happy as possible. She knew from a mirror her appearance worried him. He had already lost a mom, and now he was afraid every day of losing his Aunt.

"All right, so what about a high-ranking demon?"

"We've been through this Dean."

"I know Sammy, but let's go through it again. Cas?"

The Angel looked pensive. "It is a possibility."

Sam sighed. "Agent Brooks got the number of the guy that kidnapped Tor was texting, but it was only a burner phone. Dead end."

"It was a supernatural."

The guys looked at her.

Victoria expounded. "The man I, um, well he said that he, whoever he is, did not want to be there himself because I would know who he was."

"Tor did you just now remember this?"

Victoria nodded. "I'm sorry, Dean."

"No, no, this is good. Okay, so a Supe, who you would know, which makes it one of the normal ones. And he was gonna pick you up the next day?"

Victoria nodded. "Yes."

"So, you were, what, ready?"

Victoria looked at the eldest Winchester. "I suppose?"

"Which explains the evil magic adhered to every fiber of your being."

Sam rubbed his forehead at the angel's comments.

"Right, so who thinks like this?"

Castiel furrowed his brow, "Angels and Demons."

"But which one?"

Jack looked up from his book and looked at Dean.

"I think I might be able to help?"

"What's up kid?"

"I've felt things, off and on, at first I thought they were just normal dreams, but then last night, I saw Aunt Victoria sleeping, next to Uncle Sam. In this room. Like I was here."

Dean shrugged and looked at Cas.

"Jack, can you explain further?"

"It kind of felt like I was being used to look at them."

"Jack, do you mean you walked in your sleep? That's not unusual or anything." Sam was trying to comfort the Nephilim.

"No, it was like I a tool."

Dean could sense Cas tense up.

"Cas?"

"It must be Lucifer."

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Dean was already on the phone.

Two minutes later Cas appeared with Rowena and Crowley.

Crowley had a brandy in his hand and Rowena a cup of tea.

"I really wasn't prepared to come now dears, I was working on the contraption for our little problem." The witch nodded toward Victoria. "Of which I'm almost done. But from the looks of your lady, she will not be able to handle it."

"What?"

Rowena handed her cup to Castiel and sat on the edge of the bed. "Samuel, what I have made will store the black magic in a container that can be siphoned out of Victoria. While the machine is pulling out her blood, I will recite a spell and the magic will be contained in a glass spelled jar. Then her cleaned blood will be put back into her. But this will not be an easy process, it will be very taxing, and from the way she looks now, it will kill her."

"Oh mother, such a breath of fresh air."

Cas scowled at Crowley.

Crowley sat in a chair opposite Jack. "Hello Jack, I'm your Uncle Crowley."

Cas audibly growled.

"Now, now, Angel, don't be jealous."

"Shut up." Dean had enough. "We've got a problem to figure out, and our Chosen One is gonna have to sit it out."

"Not necessarily, Dean."

He looked at her. "Oh no, you're not trying to convince me to let you not drink the holy water, are you? You're not? Nah, that couldn't happen."

"No, just long enough for Rowena to siphon it out of me."

The witch gave a pained smile, "It's not that easy dearie. When you are full of the magic, it is too strong, I cannot beckon it out."

Victoria rested her head against the headboard. "So, I'm too weak, and then I'm too strong? So, I'm either evil or like this?"

No one said anything.

"We'll just find something to make you stronger, without the evil." Sam smiled sadly.

Victoria nodded and smiled sweetly at him. "Of course."

Dean, on the other hand, was pissed. "We can't frickin' win!" He angrily got up and stomped off to the living quarters.

Everyone in the room followed.

"Dean." Sam slightly pleaded.

The group was standing around in a circle, Mary had joined them. Cas, Tor, and Jack were huddled in a group, the others were more spread out,

"No, Sam, everything we try, every solution has a hitch. Nothing is ever straightforward, ever. Tor lived 30 years with, somehow, a regular life as a Chosen One until she met us! Now? Now she's been kidnapped, tortured, drugged, sent to an alternate universe, and has evil injected into her veins. And now she can barely stand up! And to top it all off, frickin' Lucifer is back?!"

A "whoosh" entered their midst, and in the middle of their lopsided circle stood the fallen Angel himself. "Hey guys, am I interrupting something?"

Angel blades were drawn all around.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, first off, you guys know those won't do anything. Secondly, I'm just here to talk. Kinda."

Lucifer winked at Sam. "Hey Sammy."

Sam winced and Victoria reached for his hand.

"Victoria, hey girl! So, I'm not in your sister anymore. Huh."

Victoria swallowed the lump rising in her throat.

"Hey Red. You're still kicking. Kay. Crowley, I have been waiting to see you again. Just you wait."

Crowley nervously straightened his tie.

"Mary Mary quite contrary." Mary gripped her angel blade.

"Dean. Look at you, all tall and proud and…" Lucifer clicked his tongue "Just taking command huh?"

Cas steadied himself and took the slightest step forward.

"No, no, no, no," Lucifer wagged his finger, "Don't be brave little brother. I can hear the void call your name."

Lucifer looked to Jack, who was standing behind Victoria. "Son, I have waited so long to see you. Why do you look like the trench coat?"

"He is my dad."

Lucifer's eyes flashed red. "Your dad? Right. Because he's the one that can get into your head and make you erase sigils and spy on your super-hot Aunt, right?" He looked toward Victoria, "Must run in the family."

Jack stepped backwards and clenched his fists. "What…?"

"Oh, kiddo. You're mine all the way. But whatever. Try to deny your parentage. It'll come back to get you." He looked disgusted, "Always does."

Lucifer looked towards Victoria. "I know I said super-hot, but right now, ya kinda look like crap. I guess Red figured out some Holy Water and Dead Sea Salt would expel the nice evil I put in you. Didn't you like it, didn't it feel, free?"

"You?" Victoria muttered. "Why?"

"Why not?" Lucifer scratched his stubble. "I got back here from that terrible place you threw me into with a spell and some stuff. And I decided I like it here. I like it here so much that I'm gonna make it better. That's right, earth's new Master."

Everyone looked decidedly unimpressed.

Lucifer cleared his throat with feigned embarrassment. "Look, it makes sense, right? You, me, the kid? Taking over the world? I mean, Chuck's gone, with Auntie Dear. The kid will have endless potential. You can kill any supe that gets in the way, even better than me, and I can take the humans. And the kid will be the heir."

Everyone was confused, and some were disgusted.

"You wanted me to be your, what, bride?"

Lucifer bit his lower lip, furrowed his brow, and comically shook his head. "Yeah, not looking like that."

Victoria could feel Sam tense. She leaned against him, one, because she was weak, and two, to calm him. She could not hear Lucifer's thoughts because even trying to do so would be too taxing.

"But yeah, that was my plan."

"I am mortal."

"Oh, making you immortal is super easy. Like, that." He snapped his fingers and Victoria fell to the ground clutching her stomach.

"But, you're kinda weak now. Which, really, is kinda awesome. I mean yeah, I wanted an evil, powerful bride by my side, with the kid, rule the world. Happy family. But this, this puts me at another type of advantage. Here I am, with all of you, in one room. And my son, who has limitless power, that is easy to…"

Victoria put all her energy into listening. She knew what Lucifer was going to do to Jack. She mustered up all her strength and stood in front of him, just in time for Lucifer to slice her throat with an archangel blade he somehow produced.

"Seriously? Ugh."

"No!" Jack screamed as Sam held his Aunt's now lifeless body. His eyes glowed gold as he looked at his father.

"Now, Son, this isn't what I meant." Lucifer was backing up, but he attempted to lunge at his son with the blade once more.

"I. Am. Not. Your. Son.!" Jack's rage, his power, was funneled into his hands. As he faced his palms towards Lucifer he felt what Victoria told him to control. "Get down!" He shouted to the others as his light consumed his father.

All that remained of Lucifer was his grace, swirling above the group.

Sam held Victoria in his arms, too shocked to even cry. Castiel came over and laid his hands on her forehead. "I can't…"

"I know, Cas." Sam managed to utter. "I know."

Jack sat by his uncle and looked at his aunt. This couldn't be the end.

Dean sat down right where he was. Mary came over to him and held him. Rowena and Crowley looked away, as they knew this wasn't their moment. Even demons and witches can sometimes have respect.

"I, she's not.." Jack ran his fingers along his aunt's forehead.

The cut on her neck had stopped bleeding, it was drying, and the effect looked like some 1970's horror movie.

The room was silent, as if everyone in it had accepted their situation. They knew Victoria was a Chosen One, they would be unable to get her back. They all just stayed there, frozen, hoping for a miracle.

* * *

"Victoria?"

Victoria looked around the room / laboratory. She saw Ezekiel sitting at a desk and smiled.

"I'm dead?"

He nodded. "You are in Heaven, yes."

"Makes sense." She looked around. "This is what my soul generated?"

Ezekiel sighed. "I was planning on redecorating."

Victoria hugged him. "I am so sorry."

"No, it was not your fault."

"Sam, is he going to be all right?"

Ezekiel smiled. "Victoria, this is not your time. You are here simply because you're waiting."

"I don't understand?"

"This is not your time because this room is not ready. This was your heaven before you met the Winchesters. Next time, you'll be waiting on Sam, or he will already be here."

"But he's not my soulmate."

"No, but he's close enough. There would be no heaven for you without the Winchesters."

"You saw what happened?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. I am sorry, I could not help."

"No, I understand."

"You must go back."

Victoria stood motionless, thinking. "Are Heaven and Earth time the same?"

Ezekiel furrowed his brow, asking an inaudible question.

"Can I make some stops up here first?"

"Ah" Ezekiel replied with understanding. "Your sister."

"Among others."

* * *

Victoria looked around the house. She saw Mary in the kitchen with a newborn Sam and toddler Dean. They were not real, but there was a soul here who was. She watched as John Winchester came into the kitchen, kissed Mary on the cheek and tossed Dean up into the air. He blew raspberries on Sam's tummy before going out into the garage to work on the Impala. Victoria decided to meet him out there.

"John?"

The man bumped his head on the raised hood as she startled him.

"Son-of-a-bitch! Who the hell are you?"

Victoria inwardly smiled.

"I'm Victoria Doyle. I know your sons."

John looked confused for only a second before sitting down on an upside down five-gallon bucket. He nodded as he held his head. "Yeah, this is too good to be true."

"No, it is true." She placed her hand on his head to relieve the pain. "It is as real as anything else."

"What's going on?"

"Your sons…" Victoria paused, breathed deeply, and sighed. "Are extraordinary men. They take the weight of the world, and all its sorrow upon themselves. They are heroes, but there is one thing they lack."

John looked puzzled. "Are you an Angel?"

Victoria chuckled. "No, but thank you."

"What do they need?"

"You."

"Well, Victoria Doyle, I'm dead, so…"

"I'll rephrase, they need your approval."

"Again, I'm dead."

"You can write. I can transport."

"So, what? I'm just supposed to write down how I feel about them?"

Victoria Doyle crouched in front of him, so they would be eye to eye. "I do not know you John Winchester. I have only been acquainted with a parallel time version of you where you were a dick."

John looked taken aback.

"I don't know how you are here. I do know those boys of yours will appreciate a letter from you, in your hand, explaining how you're proud of them. I'll pick it up on my way out." Victoria paused. "No, I won't, Ezekiel will give it to me."

Victoria looked back before going out of the garage. "They turn into wonderful men, John Winchester, you should be proud."

"I am."

* * *

Mrs. Turner was playing a game of checkers with her husband. They truly were soulmates. Victoria watched them from a distance. She got to see Mrs. Turner bring out a box of Oreos and a pot of coffee to the couple's screened porch. They were laughing and talking as each one tried to cheat while the other was looking away.

They were on the farm, in the house Victoria had burned. But here it was, perfect, homey, idyllic. Exactly what Mrs. Turner deserved.

Victoria wiped a tear away that had fallen down her cheek.

* * *

Victoria smiled as she saw her sister playing with all her kids, including Jack. He was a baby in her heaven, and Victoria wasn't going to tell her otherwise.

"Vicky?" Elizabeth came running to her with Jack in her arms. "Isn't he precious?"

"He's beautiful." Victoria replied, the tiniest hint of tears in her eyes.

"Where's Sam?"

"He's at home. He had to work on a case."

"Oh, right. He's so busy that boy of yours."

In Elizabeth's Heaven, Victoria was a part. So was Sam. This made Victoria feel as if she had been punched in the gut by an angel.

"I have some supper ready, if you're hungry. David will be back soon. One of the parishioners fell off their roof while putting up Christmas lights. Can you imagine?"

Victoria chuckled. "They're all right I'm guessing."

"Oh, just fine, well, I do hate to admit this, but I think they are enjoying the extra bit of attention. And who wouldn't?"

"True." Victoria smiled.

"So, I'm guessing Dean, and Mary, and Cas are coming for dinner too? On Christmas?"

"They are. We are all looking forward to it. What am I bringing again?"

"Ambrosia salad. Like you do every year."

Victoria had always been a part of her sister's heaven. She quickly hugged her, being aware of baby Jack.

"Lizzie, I love you."

"Well, of course you do, sister of mine." She smiled brightly and Victoria felt her breath catch in her throat.

"You are happy?"

"Vicky, I have never been happier."

* * *

"Thank you."

"For what, Victoria?"

"Bending the rules."

Ezekiel looked at her without a trace of arrogance, "I make the rules."

"Well, then, I suppose it is a good thing to have you on my side."

"There is nowhere else I would be." Ezekiel pulled her face to his and kissed her forehead. "It is time. Next time I see you, it will be on Earth, where you belong."

* * *

Crowley suddenly had an idea. He even thought at the moment it may have not been the best idea, but it was an idea, and since he was Crowley, he would try it, nonetheless. Crowley was the type of demon who was always ready for whatever. He prided himself on his survivalist abilities, providing his suit wasn't damaged. He pulled out a glass vial and held it towards the swirling grace. Just as he anticipated, the grace went right in.

Crowley had archangel grace in a bottle. Lucifer's nonetheless. This was useful. This was very useful. He noticed his mother's eyes on him. He rolled his own towards the ceiling. She was not going to be his moral compass, not now, not ever. He was a demon, what compass could he even possibly have? He had archangel grace. He should be on his way. But his idea persevered. Who she was, who the boy was, who they all were, he enjoyed having on his side. They were power, and they were useful. He knew he would never get archangel grace again. So, with a heavy heart, or whatever he had, he went about his plan.

Crowley walked over to Victoria, opened her mouth, and uncapped the grace. No one stopped him, surprisingly. He was expecting much fanfare. He realized Ezekiel was in the room.

"You stopped them?"

"I did."

"Why, Angel?"

"Because it was meant to be." With that he was gone.

Crowley moved away from Victoria, and suddenly the room was once more alive.

"What did you do?" Sam began to furiously play with Victoria's hair, as if that could undo whatever Crowley did.

Jack looked up at the demon, hopeful.

Dean was fuming, there was no other word for it, and Cas had his hand up.

"Calm down, and look." Crowley was really tired of this group doubting his intentions.

Victoria's neck healed and she instantly jolted awake. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of dark violet. She rolled her neck from side to side. She turned to look at Sam. "Hey."

He breathed out a relieved laugh and hugged her. "Tor, you were…"

Victoria pulled away, "Dead, I know." She felt the letters Ezekiel put in her hands. There were three.

"What are those?" Dean asked.

"Messages, from Heaven." She handed one to him, one to Sam, and one to Mary. "They are from John."

She turned to her nephew and smiled broadly. "Jack."

He hugged her tightly. "Did you see my mom?"

"I did. She is so happy. A version of you is with her, up there, in Heaven."

Sam, Dean, and Mary looked at their letters and turned them over and over in their hands.

Dean coughed a little before grabbing Tor and hugging her tightly to him. "Thank you." He whispered into her ear.

Victoria's eyes were still purple. Not shining purple, just purple.

"Umm, Tor, your eyes."

"Yes Dean. I have archangel grace in me that does not belong." She looked to Crowley. "But, it made me alive again, and can be easily remedied. I will doubt you less next time."

"Thanks darling, means the world to me."

Victoria chuckled in spite of herself. She felt good. Like run a marathon good. She wanted to instantly get back to training, but that wasn't what was needed. She looked at Rowena. "I'm guessing we can siphon my blood now?"

"Yes, Victoria, I believe we can."


	39. Part 2: Chapter 14

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**Thank you so much for all the wonderful readers who have chosen to favorite / follow this story and thank you so, so much for the reviews!**_

_I do not own Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sherlock Holmes, or any other TV show, movie, book, and/or song referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter__ Warnings: Okay, so this chapter is a rough one, and I struggled with it but it seems to be the way the story was wanting to go. Several ideas ran through my mind, but the characters and overall arch of the tale seemed to just go in this direction. There is a human murder in this chapter, drug use, and Sam makes several questionable decisions. I struggled with Sam in this setting, however, there are aspects to his character in the show that led me to believe he could be convinced to make the decisions he does in this chapter. If any of these issues are a deal breaker on reading this chapter, I totally understand and I provided a summary at the end. Also, the name used in this chapter for a new character (kind of) is not from the character mentioned in the series itself, but the Marvel character, because Jack only knows of the Marvel character (this will make sense when read, I promise). Thank you so much for reading! If there are any suggestions or comments y'all have, I would love to hear them. I've already written the next few chapters, but they are angsty, and if y'all would like any fluff included in those chapters please let me know and I will include it to make the reading easier and more entertaining. Thank you again! _

Chapter 14

Pride

"I must admit, doing a scientific experiment in the dungeon makes me feel a bit like Dr. Frankenstein." Victoria was trying to lighten the mood as Sam secured the wrist straps on the chair.

"I thought the creature was Frankenstein."

"Common misconception, Dean." Cas said as he flew in with Rowena and the supplies. "The original book by Mary Shelley also suggests that the Doctor was the monster, not the creature. Nor is he green."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Cas."

"You're welcome Dean."

Victoria and Sam shared knowing smiles.

Rowena looked at the men. "All right boys, you can go."

"I'm gonna stay."

"Samuel, this will not be pretty. I am separating Victoria's life blood. It will be painful. You should not be here."

"Sam, please." Victoria nodded reassuringly.

"I don't want you to be alone."

"I'll stay Sam."

Rowena looked at Castiel. "Yes, Angel, you can stay."

Sam pursed his lips and nodded. "Okay." He bent down and kissed Victoria's head.

Dean followed suit. They left. Each went to their rooms, just as Mary had done before. It was time to read their letters.

Castiel pulled a chair across from Victoria as Rowena set up the equipment. He took one of her hands in both of his.

"What will it be?"

Victoria smiled broadly at him, knowing she loved him as much as she had ever loved Ezekiel, just in an entirely different way. Not as a Guardian or protector, but as a friend. She felt pesky tears in her eyes and tried to blink them away. Damn, her emotions were just all hanging out now, weren't they?

Cas lowered his head and looked up at her with beautiful blue eyes, he whispered, in a husky voice even lower than normal, "I feel the same way too, Victoria." He smiled, causing one of the tears to roll down her cheeks.

"How about the memories that made you happy?"

Cas smiled. "You would like to share those with me?"

"At this moment, Castiel, I would like nothing more."

They both closed their eyes as Castiel recalled his favorite moments and shared them with her. It wasn't until they were both smiling and far off that Rowena began the siphoning.

* * *

Mary nervously began to open her letter. Tears dropped onto the envelope as she opened the golden wax seal. She unfolded the letter to see her husband's handwriting. Her hand clutched her chest.

_My Dearest Mary, _

_ Is isn't the same without you here. I should've known something was up because it just seemed different, it was still great, but you were somehow not you. I know that's not too articulate, but I just always know you. I'm glad you're back with the boys though, they need you. More than they ever needed me. I don't think I was always so great to them Mary. And I regret that. But I don't want you to regret anything. Be happy there, for me, for them. I'll be waiting on you. Tell Dean to take good care of Baby. And don't let him know what happened in the backseat. I'm waiting on you. _

_Love, _

_John. _

_P.S. Ezekiel says he's gonna wipe my memories of Victoria and these letters. So don't worry Baby, I won't be hurting. I love you so much honey, and don't even think about hurrying to see me. _

Mary folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. She clutched it to her chest. She was laughing and crying at the same time. She missed Heaven, but these boys, her and John's boys, were here and they were real, and they needed her.

* * *

Dean plopped down on his bed and put the letter beside him and picked it up and then put it back down what must have been a dozen times. He finally got up the courage to break the wax seal and read the letter from his dad. The man he idolized, feared, and in spite of everything, loved.

_Dean, _

_Hey kid. Just so you know, I can see Baby from up here in Heaven. You're doing good with her. Words don't come easy to your old man, you know that. But, I got a visit from an Angel today and she told me this was my one chance to tell you what you needed to hear. She said you and Sammy have done real good with taking care of everything going on in the world. She called you both heroes. I'll tell you son, I'm up here now and you're all of three and a half. Sammy is brand new. But when I saw your Angel today, I remembered everything. I remembered how you and Sammy ain't little no more, and how I made you hunt and enter the family business. I'm sorry Dean. You deserve the life you would've had if things were real up here. Ezekiel is gonna make me forget this ever happened. But, Dean, I'm glad your Angel girl came here. Because she's right, you are a hero. And I am so proud of you, Son. _

_Dad_

Dean tried to swallow the tears that were in his throat. He put the letter back in the envelope and put it in his nightstand. He put his headphones on and closed his eyes.

* * *

Sam was worried about Victoria in the dungeon. He was worried about Dean reading the letter from his Dad. He was worried about Mary reading the letter from her husband. He was worried about Rowena doing the spell. He was even worried about Cas having to hear Victoria's screams of pain. The one thing he wasn't worried about? Himself. He sat at his table and opened John's letter.

_Sammy, _

_I realized today that I have never been easy on you. I have never given you the credit you deserve for anything. I was always either too protective, or too strict. I made Dean take responsibility for you when I should've been there myself. I ain't gonna pretend I was a good dad, and I'm sorry you got stuck with me. Knowing it would've been different if I would've just raised my boys doesn't help. Your Angel told me that you and Dean are heroes, and I know you didn't get that from me. I was always so hopped up on vengeance that nothing else seemed to matter. But you and Dean? You two do what you do to help people. You're a good hunter Sam. And a good person. I know I didn't react the right way about things, and I know I didn't get it. But you should be proud of the man you have become. You should be proud of Stanford, of being so damn smart, and of saving the world. I know I am. _

_Dad_

Sam smiled slightly as he put the letter on his table. He heard a slight knock at the door.

"Yeah, come in."

Jack peeked his head in, "Uncle Sam?"

"Hey, Jack."

"Dean and Mary's lights are both off. I was just wondering if maybe we could go somewhere for a while? I can hear Aunt Victoria."

Sam forgot Jack had super hearing. "Yeah, of course." Sam paused for a moment. "Actually, would you mind running an errand with me?"

Jack smiled broadly.

* * *

"Great job flying Jack. So, do you remember the plan?"

"I stay out here and knock on the door three times if anyone comes up, then fly to the back porch and you'll meet me there?"

"Perfect. I'll just be a minute, I have to pick up a present for Tor. So what is also not in the plan?"

"Tell Aunt Victoria we came here."

"Good."

Sam felt guilty. High level guilty. He had his gloves on and stealthily picked the lock. The man he was looking for was laying on a couch, arm outstretched, trash scattered around him. Sam dragged the man across the room against the wall and held him to the wall by his throat.

"What the hell man, damn."

Sam gave a super scary half smile that petrified the man to his very core.

"I ain't got no money."

"I don't want money."

Sam showed the man a picture of Victoria on his phone.

"Crap man, look, just look, what you want with her, we can talk."

Sam swiped and showed the man the next picture. It was one Mary took of Sam and Victoria laughing as they were cooking.

"Oh crap."

"Yeah."

"Look man, I was just doing my job okay? That creepy stuff, that was all Que. And she already bit his throat out man, okay, just…."

Sam didn't have time to deal with this man anymore. Sam pulled a syringe out of his pocket.

"Hell no, man, come on, I'll give you the dirt on the guy who hired us."

"Already killed him."

"What about the doctor?"

"Doctor?"

Sam heard three knocks.

Sam stuck the needle into the man's arm. He left it there as he placed the man back on the couch. He used the man's belt to make a tourniquet on the arm he stuck the syringe in. He used the guys' other hand to put his thumb prints on the syringe to make it seem like he injected himself. Sam checked to make sure he left nothing behind and then he headed to the back porch.

Jack was petting a dog that looked like a panther.

_Crap_. He thought. Sam couldn't leave the dog.

"Bring him with us, that's the present."

Jack was all smiles as he flew back to the bunker.

* * *

Victoria's pain was offset by the memories Castiel showed her. She got to see the world being formed, the fish crawl onto dry land. The fish Castiel was very careful not to step on, following the instruction of his older brothers.

She got to see Castiel's favorite Heaven. Of course, this would be Castiel's favorite Heaven, it was calm, peaceful, and beautiful.

She also got to see him as he rescued Dean from Hell, and how the seraph had rebuilt Dean and left his hand print on Dean's shoulder. She felt the Angel's immediate affection for the Righteous Man. The man the Angel was sent to rescue, and the man who became his best friend.

She saw when a disheveled Cas met Dean for the first time in a barn. Even though the angel was shot and stabbed, he was relieved to see the healthy, safe Dean through the eyes of his vessel.

She watched, and felt, as he flew for the simple pleasure of it. She felt the glory of his wings as they took flight. His wings were strong, beautiful, effortless. She experienced the wind in her face as he flew over the world, the oceans seemed tiny, and infinite at the same time.

She saw as he healed human after human, giving them a renewed life. The healing gave him joy, warmth, a feeling of usefulness.

He included the moment he met her. The shock he felt at meeting a Chosen One, and the responsibility of helping her. He shared the elation and freedom he felt when she healed his wings and grace.

When Sam had first hugged him. This was especially meaningful to him because he cherished his relationship with Sam and worried he and Sam would never be friends.

When he and Dean went to a brothel. He shared the moment Dean's laugh made him feel a tinge of humanity.

When Gabriel and he rode in his car. He thought of it as his "Sam and Dean" moment.

And then, it was all over.

"I think we're done dearies."

Castiel began to unfasten the bindings on the chair.

Rowena held up the glass with the goo. It was moving.

"That's disturbing."

"It doesn't make for too pretty of a picture. But this glass is spelled, should be unbreakable."

Cas narrowed his eyes, "Should?"

"Nothing is infallible, Castiel."

Victoria stood up. "What do we do with it?"

"I suggest you put it where all the other dangerous things in this bunker go." The witch handed her the glass.

Victoria swallowed her pride at working with supernaturals, "Thank you, Rowena."

"You're welcome dear. I know I don't have to mention this, but you'll be on my side too, if I ever need you?"

Victoria nodded solemnly, sincerely.

"Now, if you'll just fly me home?" Cas nodded. And with a whoosh, they were gone.

Victoria held the evil to her chest as if it were made of well, glass. Just as she had gotten upstairs, she was almost ran over by a panther.

Victoria was not one to be dramatic. She had fought countless monsters, walked into situations having no idea what she was doing with no fear. But the panther. Made her scream. Loud.

Dean came rushing out of his room, gun drawn. Mary did the same.

"Tor, what the hell?"

"Panther."

Dean looked at her in disbelief. A werewolf, sure. Vampire, no prob. But this? Really?

"A panther, Dean. A panther. There's a panther. It ran right by me, and I almost dropped the evil. Just get the panther, please. Don't kill the panther, just send him outside."

Dean bit his bottom lip. "A panther?"

Sam and Jack came running into the room. Sam was breathless.

"Hey, uh, any chance you saw a dog, come by here?"

A loud _crash_ was heard in the kitchen.

With his paws on the counter, the black pit bull with golden eyes, who did look very much like a panther, was eating the rest of Dean's apple pie.

Dean turned to Sam as he put his gun in his waistband. "Seriously man?!"

"It's Aunt Victoria's present!" Jack interjected, excitedly.

Sam smiled with a hint of embarrassment as he scratched his chin. "Surprise?"

Victoria was still clutching her evil. What even was her life? Had Sam lost his mind? She tilted her head to examine him more closely. Was all this too much for him?

"Sammy, we need to talk. Family meeting, your room, now."

* * *

The dog was laying at the foot of Sam's bed. Jack was rubbing his belly and Sam and Victoria were leaned against the headboard. Sam had his arm around her shoulders and she was still clutching the evil.

Dean and Mary sat on the couch while Cas sat at the table, eyeing the glass jar.

"We didn't agree on a dog, Sam. It almost made Victoria drop the sludge."

Dean Winchester was tired. He had a stressful day. He wanted to sleep, but now he had to deal with a panther his brother brought home. Went out and actively sought even. Sam wouldn't do that.

Dean narrowed his eyes. He needed them out.

"You know what man, it doesn't even matter. Okay, the kid loves him. We'll figure it out in the morning. After sleep. I uh, overreacted."

Mary looked at him askew. Dean slightly shook his head, barely enough to notice.

Dean went and got the glass from Tor. The goo seemed attracted to her, as if the container had a mind of its own. He couldn't physically take it. Tor wasn't holding onto it really; it just wouldn't budge.

"Cas?"

The angel took the container away easily. Dean scoffed as he looked at his little brother.

"Come on man, you know where to put this better than we do."

Sam followed the two out of the room.

In the basement, after Sam had safely stowed the evil, Dean let it out, "What's the deal man? Hum?"

Cas looked back and forth between the brothers.

"I did something stupid."

"Yeah, I figured that from the Jungle Book in your room."

Sam hesitated but figured the truth would be best, it usually was with this family. "A while ago I found out who the other guy was that kidnapped Tor."

"What the hell? From where?"

"Agent Brooks."

"She didn't arrest him?"

"I asked her not to." Sam looked to the ground. "Today, while everyone else was busy, I went there."

"How?" Cas asked, eyes narrowing.

"You know how, Cas. I wanted you, but I knew you'd try to stop me."

Cas's look of disappointment penetrated Sam's soul. He had to look away from the angel.

"You used Jack? Sam, what were you thinking?"

"He didn't see anything." Sam paused. "He waited outside."

"I know you're like his uncle but, man, come on. Cas should've been in on this."

"Sam is right Dean, I would've said no." Cas looked to Sam. "For involving Jack, I would've said no. I would have taken you. I understand. You are not the only one here who cares deeply for Victoria."

"We could've all been in on this man."

Sam scoffed. "Really Dean, you could have all been in on murder?"

"We're a team, Sammy."

"You would've tried to stop me."

Dean couldn't argue. "It is what it is right? So, now we deal with the damage. What is the damage Sam?"

"Nothing, I made it look like an overdose. And Jack thinks we were picking up the dog as a present for Tor."

Dean scrunched up his face and rubbed his forehead. "And what whopper of a lie are we going to have to remember about the dog? That you just, what, temporarily went out of your mind?"

"Why not Dean? Haven't I earned it?"

Dean hated this part. The part that teetered on knowing he was right and guilt. Yes, Sam deserved a mental breakdown. But, damnit, he was right about the dog.

They all turned when they noticed Victoria behind them. She went to Sam and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Our family meeting was a bust." She said with a slight smile.

Sam chuckled slightly.

"I will make you a replacement pie, Dean. A better one. One without store-bought crust. I think I understand about the dog, Sam. Who our collective son named Loki, by the way."

Dean tried to cover up his grin. Loki was his favorite Marvel character too.

"You do?" Because Sam didn't.

"Yes. I think, after everything that has gone on the past few weeks, you and Jack just wanted some type of normalcy. And of course, you are going to adopt a type of dog that needs a chance. I mean, not just any family would adopt a dog that looks like a literal panther. And Mary and I talked, one of us will always be here with him, and if not, I will make sure our cases equip us with a dog-friendly hotel."

Sam marveled at the wonderfulness of this woman. His woman.

"I for one, am exhausted. And I can feel the evil calling to me in this room. It's creepy. So, lets all go to bed maybe?"

She noticed Castiel's long face.

"Castiel, what is wrong?"

"It is nothing Victoria."

She looked at him quizzically.

He gave in. "I rented a copy of the original Frankenstein movie and I was hoping we could watch it."

They all smiled broadly at that. And that is exactly what they did.

But all throughout, Sam kept repeating one word in his head: "Doctor".

* * *

Chapter Summary: Victoria has the evil removed from her blood by Rowena. Sam kills the second man that kidnapped Tor and ends up taking the man's dog back to the bunker. Dean and Cas discover what Sam did. Victoria and Mary accept the dog, which they name Loki (not based on Loki from the series, the Marvel character).


	40. Part 2: Chapter 15

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so, so much to all the wonderful readers who have chosen to review / favorite / follow this story! It means so much as an author! I would love to hear more from you guys!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Show, Movie, Book, and/or Song referenced in this tale. _

Chapter 15

Florals from Heaven

Victoria Doyle was accustomed to solitude. She usually enjoys it. Well, she did. She had a King-sized bed in her apartment that she essentially sunk into. The mattress was soft and plush. She had a down comforter that laid on her as gently as a feather. And do not even get her started on her pillows.

Now? Now she had a hunter as a pillow and a Nephilim as an armrest. There was also a pit-bull as a foot warmer. She didn't mind sleeping this way. She felt safe, and comforted, although she never really felt unsafe, well, not since discovering her powers. But this? This was different. This was a man who needed her and a nephew who had been attached to her side since the evil was siphoned out of her. He needed her, he missed her, and she was made aware of that.

Victoria woke up to her boys and her dog still sleeping. There was no possible way she could get up without waking them as well. Jack was snuggled into her side. Sam's protective arm encompassed her and landed on Jack's shoulder. Her arm was also on her nephew, and her hand on Sam's. Loki was snoring somewhat loudly.

She could feel it, sense it, in the basement. Almost as if it were calling to her. She was usually able to avoid it, but this morning it was particularly loud. She could sense her heartbeat accelerate, and her nephew must have heard it.

"Aunt Victoria?" The boy looked concerned, and she played with his hair, trying to provide whatever comfort she could.

"Hey Jack."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just woke up from a bad dream."

Sam mumbled slightly and held Victoria closer to him. "Tor? Is it morning?"

Victoria slightly smiled and lightly rolled her eyes in amusement. "Yes, let's go see what your brother made for breakfast. And get there before he eats everything."

* * *

"Pancakes!" Dean shouted as he placed a huge plate of pancakes on the table. He smiled at the trio.

"Morning!"

Dean was happy-ish. His brother had his girl and seemed great. His family was all in one place and they took care of the big bad. And they had a dog.

Victoria enjoyed Dean's good moods and gave him a very unexpected kiss on the cheek as she went to pour her coffee.

"Still got it." He mumbled as he sat down in his chair.

Victoria brought three mugs to the table and sat one down each in front of Jack and Sam. She took Dean's mug and refilled it. "Where are Castiel and Mary?"

Dean had a mouthful of pancake, "They went to buy non-toxic for dogs household plants. Cas was worried about the oxygen levels." Dean swallowed.

Sam looked at him disgusted, Jack laughed, and Victoria wondered what it said about her that she understood every word Dean mumbled.

Jack smiled at Dean as he noticed three chocolate chip pancakes that were made just for him. Dean winked at the kid.

Dean also made sure Sam didn't notice Tor's bacon was real. He only gave Sam the veggie. She mouthed "Thank You." Dean winked at her too.

This was too good to last. Dean looked at his family and he knew that this moment right here was gonna be in his heaven. He smiled somewhat sadly, knowing the moment would end, making him unable to fully enjoy it. Maybe Zeke could pull a few strings and this right here, with all their souls and one Angel, could be their Heaven. Maybe.

Sam looked at his brother with his classic "concern" face. "Dean?" A statement into a question. Sam's trademark.

"Shut up Sam."

Sam looked puzzled and Victoria actually had to stifle a laugh.

Then, it happened. Her phone dinged. She reluctantly pulled it from the waistband of her pajama pants.

"Huh." She muttered, after swallowing her bite of fluffy, delicious pancakes that were exceptional. Cas got the syrup straight from a tree in Canada, because of course he did.

Six eyes were on here. "Fancy a trip to Hawaii, gentlemen?"

* * *

So, it was Hawaii, which meant they all had to go. Victoria arranged for a dog-friendly hotel. They were only allowed two rooms, which was fine. Victoria was accustomed to the closeness and codependency at this point. It barely even bothered her. Barely.

Dean was worried about clothing. Against her better judgement, Victoria gave him her credit card and told him he could get clothes there while she and Sam researched. Dean was way too excited. They rented a car and the four of them went off shopping while Sam and Tor stayed back. They sat on the balcony of their room and Victoria had to hand it to their police department for the ocean view.

They had the case file in front of them on the small balcony table when Victoria suddenly became inquisitive. Sam noticed she stopped reading and touched her shoulder slightly.

"I can't hear anything. Which means this is probably another weird-ass monster. I've been doing this ten years now, and you and Dean for much longer. Why are all these things showing up now?"

Sam looked contemplative. He sighed slightly, "I've been thinking about that too. And I thought that maybe Lucifer released them. But I just can't make that work. He wanted all the supes under control, which is why he wanted you…" Sam paused as he slightly shuttered, imagining the woman beside him being Lucifer's 'bride'. "But why release more to have to control? It just doesn't make sense."

Victoria took his hand as she nodded in agreement. "That went through my mind as well. I can't make it work Sam. There must be something deeper here."

"Yeah." Sam kissed her hand before releasing it to go back over the files. "Okay, so what do we got?"

Victoria looked at her notepad. "Drownings, in weird places. Sightings of giant lizards. All the killings are in one family. Not much to go on."

Sam frowned as he looked at the crime scene pictures. "They weren't around any water when they drowned."

"What's the lizard? I was thinking shape shifter, but I can't make out any readings on that, so if that's what it is, it's not the typical one."

"What if it is just a giant lizard?" Sam thought for a moment. "Never mind."

"We're in Hawaii, maybe we should start with Hawaiian mythology?"

Sam nodded as he went back into the room to get his iPad.

Statements from the police were not always as conclusive as interviews and just about as Tor was going to call Dean and ask them to interview the family, in he comes, in a Hawaiian shirt over a plain white tee and Khaki shorts. Jack was wearing the exact same thing, beaming. Cas looked embarrassed and simply put up his hands in a surrender as they came in. He, of course, was still wearing the trench coat.

Mary was radiant in a sun dress and Victoria immediately complimented her.

"Already got invited to a Luau." Dean announced proudly as he plopped into an over-sized chair.

Sam was still staring at him.

Cas joined Victoria on the balcony, taking Sam's vacated seat. He simply looked at her, with a complete sense of being un-amused.

"He made me buy the exact same outfit."

Victoria laughed, a good, very much needed deep belly laugh. Cas was still un-amused.

"You're his best friend, and he is treating this like a vacation, so, I want to give that to him. He deserves it." Victoria bit her lip to hide the smile forming at the idea of Castiel in shorts.

Cas rolled his eyes but conceded.

"Sam and I are going to handle this one."

Cas tried to argue, "Victoria…" he began, only to be interrupted.

Victoria motioned back towards the hotel room. "Castiel, look at your best friend and your son. They are thrilled. When was the last time you saw them like that?"

He didn't say anything.

"Go to the Luau, take many, many pictures, and enjoy yourself."

"Where will I hide my angel blade?"

Victoria raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Victoria and Sam rarely teamed up on cases and the dynamic was new for them, they were almost awkward.

"Umm, we should probably try to find out what this thing is and once we've got a few choices maybe interview the family, see if the dots connect."

Victoria had her mouth full of fresh pineapple. She nodded. Loki came up to her, nuzzling her leg. She gave him a piece. He spit it out. "Really dog?" The canine wagged his tail.

It was harder to separate the business and home life with Sam than it was with Dean. She noted she and Dean worked really well together. He wasn't afraid to insult or mildly upset her, Sam was.

"Okay, so get this," Sam moved the screen of his iPad to where Victoria could see as well. "There are a ton of Hawaiian myths regarding water." He scrolled so Victoria could see all the pictures depicting the creatures.

"Stop." She said as he scrolled past a picture of what looked like an alligator. "What is that?"

Sam read the name. "Mo'o?" He knew he was butchering the pronunciation and said an apology to every Hawaiian in his head.

"What does it do?"

"It's a uh, lizard creature that can shape shift."

"Sounds promising."

"It can get to be up to thirty feet long."

"Sounds terrifying."

Sam looked over at her briefly and smiled slightly out the side of his mouth. "It can also shape shift into a beautiful woman."

"Wait." Victoria began looking though the papers. "Here." She put the paper between them on the table and motioned to a portion she circled. "One of the men of this family had just gotten married. And the bride has been missing since before the first murder."

Sam nodded. "So, maybe she's the killer?"

"Maybe. What else?"

"Uh…" Sam looked back at the screen, "They have power over water."

"The drownings."

"And they live in fresh water. Sometimes pools, sometimes just natural bodies of water. They can be ancestors of the families and are often thought of as protectors. They're usually not evil."

"Maybe ours went rogue."

The cool breeze tussled Sam's hair and he closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. Victoria took her hand to play with his hair because the wind was making her jealous. Sam was not expecting the touch, but he leaned his face into it.

Victoria loved this man. And she realized just how much as the evil was consuming her. Even with the sludge covering every bit of her, every part that made her who she was, there was still a part of her that escaped for Sam.

"Gross." Dean jokingly said as he grabbed a piece of pineapple from Victoria's plate.

Victoria removed her hand from Sam's head in order to punch Dean (lightly) in the stomach. "I thought you were gone."

"Had to come back for some sunscreen, can't risk this skin." He patted Sam on the shoulder and then kissed Victoria on the head before leaving. "Don't get killed."

"That's my brother." Sam snorted.

* * *

Sam and Victoria thought the best course of action would be investigating fresh water sources around the families' home. But, as is often expected, things didn't go exactly to plan.

The house of Kekoa was a large one. Very large. It was an estate. The entire family lived there, and this family consisted of two sets of grandparents, two sets of parents, six children, and their spouses. It was a very large house. So far, in that house, three people were killed. Drowned, with no water around.

"Crap!" Victoria exclaimed as she and Sam made it to the estate in the rental car; which left a lot to be desired stylistically.

"What?" Sam was concerned, his brow furrowed.

"We don't know how to kill it."

Sam seemed confused. "You smite it?"

Tor laughed at the interrogative nature of his statement. "Sam, I couldn't smite the Sandman."

This was new information to Sam. He swallowed the emotion he felt rising in his throat. His hands were drumming nervously on the steering wheel. "Are you, uh, powered down?"

"No, no. I don't think so. I actually think I'm stronger than ever before." The purple still held in her eyes. Making her tell everyone outside of the family she was trying new contacts. "I think it depends on their age?"

"The monster's age?"

"Yes."

"How did you kill the Sandman?"

"I snapped his neck."

"Oh." Sam nodded his head up and down too quickly. "Okay."

"I can't snap a lizard's neck."

"Maybe we should call Cas, and Jack."

Dean would've trusted her. Let her go in, not necessarily guns blazing, but relying on his gun and training and her powers. Sam, not so much. Sam was worried about her. Not that Dean wasn't, it just manifested differently.

Victoria realized she shouldn't have said anything. Why did she? Because she was worried about Sam somehow being alone with the thing and not having any protection. And somehow, that didn't occur to him.

"We can take care of it." She just knew she wouldn't leave Sam's side. No problem, and she still had her guns filled with her experimental bullets. Victoria reached into her coat pocket. The coat was in the backseat because Hawaii was warm, something they weren't exactly used to. She handed Sam the Kimber. "Here. The exploding ammo. This should do it." She smiled at him and grabbed the door handle. He grabbed her sleeve, as she expected he would.

"I… I can't lose you, again." The words came hard for him, he almost choked on them. He was never one to shy away from his feelings for Victoria, but all that they had been through in the last little bit affected him more than he would care to admit. Definitely more than he cared to show, even to her.

"I would never do that to you."

Sam scoffed. "You can't control that, Tor. But this? We can get backup."

Victoria thought about her family enjoying themselves and regretted what she knew she was going to say. "Okay. But, just Castiel?"

Sam agreed.

Cas met them in the driveway. Complete in a Hawaiian shirt, white tee, and khaki shorts. He was also wearing Crocs. His face held the look of a man who was expecting ridicule.

Sam had to fill his mouth with air, cough, and bite his cheek in order to keep from laughing.

Victoria just wondered how she had reached a point in her Chosen One life where an Angel of the Lord would be wearing that. At least he wasn't wearing socks with the crocs.

"Umm, thanks for coming Cas."

The Angel simply looked at the youngest Winchester.

Victoria walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek. She could feel Sam's questioning stare. She transferred her feelings of gratitude to the Angel, so he could feel more confident in his attire. She knew, without reading a single thought, that Cas just wanted to be appreciated.

"Thank you, Victoria."

She smiled at him. Actually, he looked kind of, attractive? Minus the Crocs. She wondered if other time Cas would wear that?

As they walked up to the front steps Sam whispered in her ear, "What did you do?"

"Made him feel how glad we were that he showed up."

Sam kissed her cheek, and she smiled.

Sam knocked on the massive door that was opened by a butler.

"Come in." The drollness radiated from him. Without fully opening his eyes he led them into a large living room. The formal living room that is.

They were greeted by two of the Kekoa's. The husband of the disappearing lizard woman and his brother.

"Thank you for coming."

They all nodded. The two men looked at Castiel with a sideways glance. "He was called in while he was off-duty." Sam explained.

"I'm Sam Winchester, this is Victoria Doyle, and this is Castiel Winchester, my brother."

Cas smiled at the introduction, making him momentarily forget his attire.

"I am Kahawai, and this is my brother Kilohana."

Everyone shook hands. Sam began his normal interrogative approach while Victoria listened.

She smirked as she heard it.

She lightly touched Sam's hand as she left the room to go investigate. She prayed to Cas to stay with Sam. She kept an open mental line with Castiel so that Sam would not be overly concerned.

The house was a maze of excess. Although she could hear it, and make out its general location, she could not seem to pinpoint it, which was odd if it was a 30-foot lizard.

Its thoughts were jumbled, strange. Victoria could make out words but couldn't string them together.

_Sticky. Bug. Water!_ (excitedly)_ Husband_ (anger)_ Woman _(a crap ton of anger).

Finally, she found the source of the thoughts. A gecko, standing on its hind legs, hissing at her.

She felt Sam and Cas's presence behind her.

"Is that… is that it?"

"Yes."

_Water!_

Suddenly, Sam started coughing. Victoria turned to see him spitting out water and holding his throat.

Cas was putting his hands to Sam's forehead, "I can't stop it."

Then Cas started coughing.

Crap. Crap. Crap. Victoria tried to step on the gecko, but it ran. And it could run. Victoria chased after it with a determination that scared the Mo'o, all through the house, hoping with everything in her Sam and Cas wouldn't drown before she could squash it.

As soon as she was able to step on its tail, the tail came off, writhing on its own. Victoria stomped it into the ground as she continued to chase the thing throughout the mansion. She dove onto it in one of the bedrooms and managed to grab its small torso. Just as she was about to squeeze the life out of it, it turned into a woman.

A naked woman. Who Victoria was grabbing. Kay. The thoughts were much more cohesive now. _Why can't I drown her? What is she? _

Victoria futilely attempted to smite. Damn it. Son of a bitch and everything else Dean says.

_What is she doing? Checking my temperature?_

Victoria growled as she put her hands around the woman's throat. She was straddling her. As soon as she had a good grip on the woman's throat, she shifted into one of those 30-foot lizards.

Son of a bitch! Victoria pulled her LC9s out of her waistband and unloaded the clip into the beast.

Reptile, everywhere.

Victoria sat back in the blood-soaked room. She was covered in bits of reptile.

Sam and Cas ran into the room, panting. Water down their shirts.

"Bullets worked."

* * *

Sam and Cas volunteered to stay around and explain everything to the Kakoa's, as well as figure out why the hell the Mo'o was targeting them anyway. Although very, very curious, Victoria wanted a shower.

She covered the front seat of the rental car with a plastic drop cloth the Kakoa's gave her and drove back to the hotel. She climbed the fire escape into their room in order to avoid the lobby.

Dean was eating pork in his pajamas, watching TV when she got in.

"Exploding ammo?"

She nodded.

* * *

Sam and Cas weren't back yet when Victoria got out of the shower. She sat next to Dean and took some pork off his plate.

"I work better with you than Sam."

"Just for now Tor. Sammy's gotta realize you're here and you're not going anywhere. Same as when any of us come back from the dead."

Victoria just looked at him. Dean shrugged.

"The fact you can even say that, without joking, is…" She hesitated.

"Screwed up?"

"To put it mildly."

Dean snickered. "Just give him time. He'll be back in badass hunter mode in no time."

"So, he lets you do things now, on your own?"

Dean looked at her, "What?"

"He insisted we call Castiel in before even going in the house."

"Yeah, I missed that weird little dude. You should've seen him Tor. Angel has game. He doesn't know it, but that makes it a hell of a lot more entertaining."

"I thought y'all were probably enjoying yourselves, which any of us rarely do, and he just wouldn't agree, without Castiel. And even then…"

Dean furrowed his brow.

"They were both affected by her powers Dean. I almost watched them drown."

Dean shifted, uncomfortable at the thought of his little brother and Angel almost dying, again. "But not you?"

"No."

"What the hell?"

"But I couldn't smite it. Even with the Archangel grace."

"But you killed it."

"Yeah, with the bullets. Which I gave Sam in my Kimber before we even went in. But the bullets didn't work on the Sandman. We're one step behind."

"You got them each time though, Tor."

"Which is my job, Dean. But not if Sam won't let me do it. I don't want to sneak off on cases and I do not want to lie to him." Victoria looked at her hands. "Not again, not after the well, the rift."

Dean thought about the man Sam killed. Talk about lies.

Victoria looked at him quizzically.

"Like I said, he'll get better. He just got you back. We all did."

Victoria nodded. "Of course, you're right. And I will acquiesce to every request he makes of me for my safety until he is confident that I can handle myself. Which I can. I shot that bitch down."

Dean laughed at the subtle way she said that.

Sam and Cas came in and sat in the chairs on either side of the couch.

"So, the Mo'o was upset because her husband cheated on her with, get this, his cousin, who lived in the house."

"So, she killed her?"

"Yeah, but not before she disappeared. She wanted her husband to be the suspect. When that didn't work, she killed more."

Victoria wished she could have found out from the Mo'o why she targeted that man to begin with, but it was too late for that. The villains usually love their speeches, but this one had to be taken care of because she was drowning two men she adored.

But there could always be speculation. She may have been like Ariel, saw the man of her dreams and decided to become human. But love is very rarely that simple.

* * *

Jack and Loki had one of the double beds and Sam and Tor had the other. Victoria put her head on his chest and felt the warmth of his arm around her, holding her close, gently but tight. As if his hold on her was the only reason she was there.

Dean was right. He would get better. Her death and resurrection were so fresh. It was only a week ago she was laying dead in his arms. Of course, he was worried she would be killed again. How could she have been so insensitive? She looked up at him and kissed his jawline. The only reason she didn't panic when she saw him drowning was because the anger of wanting to kill that gecko bitch took over all other emotions.

She tried to put the thoughts out of her mind and fall asleep.


	41. Part 2: Chapter 16

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading this story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so so much to all the wonderful readers who chose to review / favorite / follow this tale! It is so appreciated!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Shows, Movies, Books, and/or Songs referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter Warnings: This chapter begins one of the main themes for Part 2. If you guys would like to see any scenes added just let me know! _

Chapter 16

Perchance to Dream

_The voices were muffled, as if she were in some sort of a confinement, but one she could not see to get out of. _

"_Everything is coming along just fine." _

"_Oh, good, I know they will be so glad to hear it." _

"_Have you spoken to her yet?" _

_Pause. _

"_No, it's a very difficult situation. He is trying to make sure she doesn't find out until everything is okay for certain. After what happened last time." _

_Although she couldn't see where she was, she could tell it was warm, and cozy, and just all-around habitable. She felt as if she were swimming in a waterbed. The voices, however, made for a bit of an uncomfortable, disconcerting sound. _

_They were moving. There were other voices, far too muffled to make out. _

_Then they were stationary again, only not really, they were moving but just not at the same rate, or way. _

"_Okay," The voice said, "What are we going to listen to on the way back, hum?" _

Victoria Doyle woke up looking into the eyes of her nephew who was on the other bed.

"Hey Jack. You okay?"

Jack nodded, scanning her face, almost as if he were hoping for something.

"Do you need anything?" She tried to sound sweet, unbothered. But the dream had bothered her.

He shook his head this time, his hand searching to find the dog.

Victoria smiled at him and tried to sit up. Sam's arm kept her down. She was used to this, in the mornings. Otherwise her strength would overcome his grip and she could startle him. It happened a few times, before Victoria became accustomed to her new normal.

She grabbed her phone to text Dean and ask him to take Jack to breakfast.

She smiled as she heard a soft knock on their adjoining door in a minute. "Hey kid. Let's take the dog and head down to get some grub."

Jack slowly got up. He hadn't taken his eyes off his Aunt and she knew something wasn't right. Did he sense her dream? Was it the Grace?

He tilted his head at her. Did he hear that?

Jack snapped Loki's leash onto his collar and followed Dean out of the room. Minutes later, Castiel knocked on the adjoining door. He waited until Victoria said, "Come in", waking Sam.

Sam's morning look never failed to amuse her. She straightened his hair before he stumbled off the bed to go to the bathroom and make coffee.

"You wished to see me?"

Victoria sat up in bed, motioned Cas to sit in front of her and licked her lips as she subtly bit them inside her mouth, uncertain. "Would it be possible for Jack and me to have the same dream?"

* * *

Castiel looked pensive, and slightly concerned. He began slowly, "I believe it would be possible, considering you share…" he hesitated.

Victoria finished his thought for him, "Grace."

Cas nodded slowly, almost painfully.

Victoria wondered how that was even working in her body. Each time she thought too much about it she became too thoughtful, forcing her to completely abandon the thought, or at the very least try to.

She took the coffee cup Sam handed her and smiled slightly at the peck on the cheek she received as well.

Castiel tried to push down the guilt with offering help. "Did Jack share his dream with you?"

Victoria took a sip from her steaming cup. "No. But I just knew. I tried to play it off, which I probably should not have done, but I didn't want him to, well…"

"Freak out?" Cas offered, the words foreign.

Victoria chuckled. "Yes, that."

Sam looked inquisitive.

"I think Jack and I shared a dream."

Sam nodded. Anything that reminded him that Lucifer not only permanently damaged his life but now Victoria's as well he tried to shove down.

"Can you tell me what it was?"

Victoria went clammy, cold, and she didn't know why.

She knew Sam would know this would only be to get him out of the room, but she couldn't tell him, not yet, it just felt too, strange? Personal? Weird? She didn't know.

"Sam, can you go make sure Jack is getting some fruit with his breakfast? And maybe bring some back up?" She tried to smile broadly, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Sam knew. He nodded and left.

Cas furrowed his brow.

Victoria felt ill, her stomach seemingly in her throat. "Castiel, I think I was, a fetus?"

* * *

Dean looked at his brother at the buffet bar. Tor must've wanted them both out, huh. Sam came over with a plate of Sam-breakfast and a plate of fruit.

"What was your dream, Jack?"

The boy tilted his head at his Uncle. "Aunt Victoria…"

"Thought you may have had the same dream."

"And she didn't tell you?" Dean's voice was a warning. This wasn't like Sam, normally he understood space.

Sam just looked at him. A face Dean knew all too well, the one face Dean was less apt to argue with then all the other Sam faces.

Jack just shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal. Kinda weird. Like I was in a really dark, wet place. And I heard voices that I could kinda hear, kinda couldn't." He went on eating his breakfast.

"What did the voices say Jack?"

"Umm, that everything looked good, which was good, and wondering what kind of music to play."

Sam nodded, face solemn.

Dean needed the kid out, now.

"Hey, uh, Jack. Why don't you go and see if Mom and Cas want anything? And take this plate of food back up to your Aunt Tor, huh?"

Jack happily nodded as he took the plate, Loki's leash, and left.

"What's going on Sammy?" His tone was low, deep, hushed, and urgent.

"We've got to go back to Colorado, Dean."

* * *

As far as excuses go, it was a pretty crappy one. Sam and Dean told everyone else they just wanted some time to drive Baby and gank a vamp, just like the old days. They got a lot of head tilts. Especially because Cas knew what they were doing and even he knew the lie was crap. Victoria titled her head because Sam was constantly worried about her safety and could barely pry himself away from her. Jack was confused because of how many times Sam and Dean mentioned they were all 'family'. But the Angel, Nephilim, Chosen One, and Mary Winchester all decided to make the best of it in the bunker.

"That was the best you could come up with?"

"Shut up Sam."

Sam rubbed his forehead. "If what I'm thinking is right, Dean, I don't know man, I just…" He couldn't continue and Dean felt a pang of guilt.

"Look, we don't know nothing for sure, okay? All we know is that Tor and Jack had the same weird dream, probably because of that Grace."

Sam knew more.

He hesitated. He hesitated a lot.

Dean knew, but he just kept waiting on his baby brother to tell him. He knew he would. He knew they weren't driving out to that warehouse those bastards were keeping Tor because of a shared dream.

"Dean?"

There it was. "Yeah, Sammy?"

"The other kidnapper, right before I uh…"

"Killed him?"

Sam scoffed, "Yeah, he uh, said there was a doctor."

Dean was connecting the dots. He furrowed his brow, scrunched up his face, and sniffed in order to try to hide the emotion. Or to try and stifle the emotion.

"And what are we looking for?"

"Evidence."

* * *

Victoria looked at the message on her phone over and over again.

_Dickson County Sheriff's Office – Miss Doyle, we have a case that requires your particular set of skills. _

She turned the phone over and over in her hands. Should she call Sam and tell him while they were out on their "boy's trip"? What the hell even was that? And why did it piss her off? So annoying. Was Dean comfortable with leaving Jack and Mary alone now? Should they all just get in the Mustang and head off to Tennessee? Oh no, that car was way too small for that.

_Crap_.

She'd call Dean.

"Hey Tor, you okay?" The man picked up on the first ring.

"Uh, yeah, fine. Look, I have a case. And I was wondering which course of action would piss your pissy brother off the least."

She regretted that as soon as she said it, but luckily the eldest Winchester found it hysterical. He had to stop laughing before he could answer her. "Take Cas. Jack is doing really good with his powers, and I think Loki helps him out. So, Mom will be fine. Besides, they can bond."

"Thanks, Dean."

"Be careful Tor."

"You too."

Victoria hopped off her bed and began to pack. She and Cas were gonna take the 'Stang.

* * *

"Was that Tor?"

Dean looked over at his brother, whom he allowed to drive.

"Yup."

Sam was hurt she didn't call him.

Dean read his face. "Can you blame her man? First, you won't let her work a case with just the two of you, and then all the sudden you decide to go on a hunt with your very human, albeit smart and handsome, brother for a trip down memory lane? She knows something's up. And we'll be damn lucky if she doesn't read Cas's mind to find out."

Sam paled. How had he not thought of that?

"She won't, Sammy."

Sam looked pained, exhausted, tired, and pained.

Dean had to switch from annoyed brother to supportive brother. "Look, she needs you, man, okay? You came into her world and made it so much better…" He was cut off by Sam's sardonic laugh.

"Better? Better? Dean, what has she been through since she's known us?!" As his voice became louder so did his pressure on the pedal.

"Sam…" it was a warning.

"She's been kidnapped, tortured, used, had her soul cloaked, bit a man's throat out, boiled a demon's blood, almost ripped a woman's heart out, and oh yeah, frickin' died!"

Sirens were heard behind them.

"Son of a bitch!"

Dean angrily handed all of Baby's papers to Sam.

Sam tried to smile at the officer but even the effort was futile.

"Mr. Winchester," The abnormally tall officer began as he handed the papers back to Sam, after taking them to his cruiser. "Even though you have friends at the department, I would suggest you keep within the speed limit. You were going 30 over, it's dark out here and deer run through. Hate to see that car smashed up."

"Me too." Dean grunted through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry officer."

"Be safe." With a nod, he got back in his car.

"Get out Sam."

"Dean, I…"

"Get. Out. Sam."

They were back on the highway, with Dean driving this time, before they continued their conversations.

"Which part do you think wouldn't have happened if Tor hadn't met us?"

"Any of it."

"From the way I see it, Lucifer still would've taken over her sister's body. But Tor would've died that day."

Sam looked at him quizzically.

"You saved her, Sam. And the only reason she was able to hold him off that long was because she had all that extra strength from fixing Cas's wings."

Sam thought.

"Look, all right? I used to think we messed up Cas's life, or I did. We made him 'fall' or whatever." Dean scoffed lightly, "But Sammy, the three of us, we always ended up saving the world. And yeah, maybe he would've been better off still being that dorky dick-headed angel, but I just can't think that way, ya know?"

"He made his own choices, Dean."

"And Tor didn't? Can I be in the room when you make that suggestion to her?"

Sam smiled slightly.

"You and me Sammy? And hell, even Cas? We take on all this guilt that we shouldn't. I know saying that won't keep it from happening, but damn, we need to chill."

Sam licked his bottom lip, "But if this is true, Dean?"

"Then we'll deal with it, Sammy, just like we always do."

* * *

Victoria was most definitely having a 'human moment'. Castiel could feel the tension radiating from her body. He could also feel her Grace, which hadn't happened since she had acquired it. There was a great deal in her, and he wondered if it would dissipate. He hoped it would dissipate.

Victoria did have her Eagles cassette playing, but that reminded her of Sam, so she switched it for a Credence Clearwater Revival one.

She looked tired, but Cas knew better than to offer to drive. So, he just sat in the passenger seat – in very uncomfortable silence. He would much rather have flown.

Victoria surmised that whatever the Winchester boys were up to, Castiel was in on, so she figured her anger could be extended to him. Unless… No, she wouldn't use guilt on the Angel, nor would she read his mind without consent, both were cruel. And she knew that their lies were probably for what they considered good reason. But lies always come out in the end. And when they did, she would handle it then.

"I apologize Castiel, I think Sam and Dean's sudden departure made me a bit testy."

"I understand, Victoria."

"I know they have something going on, but I'm not going to ask you what it is."

Castiel looked as if he were about to protest, but then looked relieved.

That look of relief confirmed her suspicions. "At least they just didn't tire of us." She attempted humor.

"I have often feared that myself, which is one reason I always try to make myself useful."

Victoria wrapped the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel around his. He smiled at her.

"Both of them are so closed in, I think it may be because they are afraid of letting people in. They are afraid of how many people they would make demon deals for. The smaller the number, the better. I'm fairly sure you could literally sit on the couch in Sam's room and do nothing and they would still want you around."

"Sam might find that 'creepy'."

Victoria broadly smiled at his one-handed air quotes.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"Of course." Cas paused, "Can I use the big gun this time?"

* * *

Victoria and Castiel decided to stay the night in a motel on the way to Tennessee. She was sitting on the bed in her pajamas turning her phone over in her hands. She was deeply annoyed. "Dammit" she muttered, before Facetiming Sam.

The youngest Winchester was surprised to see Tor pop up on his phone, but it made him smile.

"Hey." He breathed out with a slight smile. He could tell something was different.

"You okay?"

Victoria looked at his concerned face. "I'm annoyed."

Sam tried to hide his smile. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes, dumbass." She heard Dean chuckle.

"Why are you annoyed?" Sam's smile was no longer hidden.

"Because I miss you." Victoria rolled her eyes at herself.

"Oh." And there was the crooked, self-satisfied grin Victoria had seen a few times before, usually when he knew he had 'won her over'.

"You're exasperating, Sam Winchester."

"I know."

Victoria laid back on the bed. "Why are y'all still driving? You both need to rest."

Sam winced, knowing he'd have to come up with another lie. "We're just trying to get there as quickly as possible, maybe prevent another attack."

Victoria nodded. "Maybe if you tell me the exact location, I can try to hear it? I do have some extra mojo." She smiled at the use of Dean's term.

Sam swallowed. "Uh, yeah, uh, I'll text it to you as soon as we figure it out."

Victoria sighed.

"Where's Cas?" Sam wanted the subject changed, quick.

"He went to get me a pizza." Victoria wrinkled her nose. "From Chicago. I had a craving? Weird, right?"

Sam swallowed again. "No, not really. Dean has cravings all the time."

"True."

He watched as she absent-mindedly scratched at her chest. Concern washed over him. "Are you okay?"

"What?"

"Your chest."

"Oh, yeah, its been itching. Castiel checked me out, said I was in good condition for a human with Angel Grace and then went to get my pizza." She shrugged. "He's also getting me some aloe vera. From the actual plant."

Sam chuckled. "Cas." He skipped a beat. "Cas with wings."

Victoria had waited to say this, but she knew she couldn't hold it in anymore. "I don't know what's going on Sam. And that's okay. I don't have to. But whatever it is, be safe. Okay?"

Sam pursed his lips and nodded. "Tor, I…"

"No, it's okay. Seeing you, even in this very limited capacity, dissipated my anger. I just… I just…" Damn her pride, why was this so hard? "Uh, need you."

Sam remembered the words of the Victoria with the cloaked soul. "I need you too Tor."

"Be careful Sam, whatever you are getting into. And call Castiel if there is any type of need."

"Of course."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Victoria tossed her phone beside her just as Cas popped in with pizza and Coke. She smiled at the Angel. "You brought my second favorite drink?"

He handed her a jar of a gooey clear substance from his coat. "For your chest."

"Thank you Castiel."

* * *

_Victoria was sitting in a meadow, surrounded by wildflowers. By her side was a still-steaming mug of coffee and a book. _

"_Hello Victoria." _

_She looked to see Ezekiel next to her. _

"_Is this dream you, or now you?" _

_He scrunched his face. _

"_Now you." _

"_How are you finding yourself handling the Grace?" _

_Victoria sighed. "At first, I barely noticed it. And now it seems to be emerging. I feel it, as if it is trying to escape. It scratches at my heart." _

_Ezekiel solemnly nodded. "Angel Grace is not meant to be in a human. As you are aware. The reason you are not being burned from the inside out is because you are one of the Chosen." _

"_I assumed." Victoria held the mug between her hands. She took a sip. Dream coffee was delicious. "Can it be removed?" _

_Ezekiel hesitated. "There may be a method, where you reside. My brother knows the way." _

_Victoria's brow furrowed. "Will it eventually burn me from the inside out?" _

"_No." _

_She titled her head at him. "How do you know this?" _

_He shared with her a sideways glance. "I simply do." _

"_And the burning?" _

"_Can be calmed. I believe you will eventually become accustomed to it." _

"_Yeah, well, it sucks." _

_Ezekiel was not used to this Victoria, not yet. He slightly smiled, in spite of himself. "When is the Grace the quietest?" _

_Victoria thought. "When I'm near Jack, I think." _

_He nodded. _

"_Huh. Okay. So, it is not dangerous?" _

"_No, it is not." _

"_It's not, evil?" _

"_No, Victoria, no Grace is evil. Not even his." _

_With a kiss placed on the top of her head, he was gone. _

Victoria awoke with a start, and without Sam. She had to rip her hand away from her chest. Castiel eyed her wearily.

"Castiel?"

"Yes, Victoria?"

"The Grace burns. I think yours might help subdue it. Can you…" She could not believe she was asking this. Dear Lord above. But she needed sleep in order to fight whatever they were going to face, and she was also just tired. She mustered up her courage and faced the confused Angel. "Can you lay beside me?"

* * *

_The lake was peaceful, as always. The line went up and down, the beer was always cold. Dean looked over, and there he was, Cas, sitting in another chair, staring at his Father's creation. _

"_Hello Dean." _

"_Hey Cas." _

_They both took sips from the beer bottles in front of them. _

"_How's Tor?" _

"_She is sleeping on me." _

_Dean looked at his best friend with confusion. "She's what?"_

"_Her… his grace is affecting her Dean." _

"_Well, it's not supposed to be stuck into a human. But, what the hell, ya know? She's alive." _

"_I think my Grace soothes her. As does Jack's." _

"_I guess that makes sense." _

"_I am not sure how it is operating. I am doing my best to figure that out, Dean." _

"_I know buddy, you got this." Dean patted the Angel on the back. _

"_How's Sam?" _

"_A friggin' disaster. I only let him drive because I was about to fall asleep at the wheel." Dean smirked, looked at Cas, who only tilted his head, rolled his eyes and looked back at the lake. _

"_What is he looking for, at the warehouse?" _

"_Evidence to support his theory. Which I hope like hell isn't true." _

"_Me too Dean." _


	42. Part 2: Chapter 17

_A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this tale!_

**_Thank you so, so much to those of you who are choosing to follow / favorite / review this story! It means so much as an author!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Show, Movie, Song, and/or Book referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter Warnings:_ _This chapter deals with some serious angst. Sam and Victoria are both dealing with her kidnapping and what happened to her while she was kidnapped in their own ways. It is a heavy chapter, but I tried to put some comforting things in there. The next few chapters will be heavy, but I would love to include any scenes you guys may want to see as well. Thank you so much for reading. _

Chapter 17

Evidence

Victoria kept staring at the Angel sniffing the body. Ezekiel never did this. Was this a thing? She tried to subtly text Dean.

_I don't know how to phrase this…_

_Is dude sniffing the bodies? _

Dean never gave himself enough credit. Victoria sent him a gif of a celebrity nodding their head up and down.

_He does that. _

"This body, Angela DeWinter, has died from blood loss and a missing heart. Her soul is currently in Heaven. She had a penchant for raspberry flavored chocolate and a stomach ulcer. Treated with antacids."

Victoria liked the Heaven part. She walked over to examine the body as well. She saw the open chest cavity and bite marks on the victim's neck. She also noticed what looked like pieces of nail polish around the chest cavity. She examined the wound further. It could very well have been done with nails and a hand. She flash-backed to when she was about to rip out that cannibal's heart and had to steady herself.

Cas's hand was on her arm immediately.

"I think the chest may have been opened with a hand."

Castiel nodded.

Victoria took her gloves off and threw them into the trashcan by the door before leaving the room.

"Will you need to look at the body anymore Miss Doyle?" The coroner looked a bit ill. Too ill for just that body in there.

She prayed to Cas to read his mind.

* * *

Sam was just about to get out of the Impala when Dean shoved a pair of gloves at him. "Suit up Sammy."

The warehouse was deserted, and dirty. They could see the wardings covering almost every square inch of the outside. The spray paint mixed with rust and made the building look foreboding.

They drew their guns and ventured inside.

The smell overtook them immediately.

"Holy crap." The body of the man Victoria had killed was still on the floor. The blood dried, the eyes open. Flies were buzzing, feeding. Rats scampered over the carcass, eating whatever was left.

Both men covered their noses with their jackets, guns at their sides.

"We'll get used to the smell in a minute, Dean."

"Nobody should have to get used to that, damn!"

Next to the man was the chair Victoria was tied to for two weeks. They saw the broken chain, and IV that she ripped out of her skin. Sam could picture her there; he shook his head to try and clear the image.

Dean saw the woman his brother was so fond of as well. But his image was the one of the woman ripping out the man's neck. The woman who fought Cas in the woods, the woman with blood running down her throat. Blood that was not her own. He too, shook his head.

They walked around, until they found it, the room Sam was terrified existed.

* * *

The hospital had a break room, and they escorted the coroner in there. Cas and Tor sat across from the man, making him aware with their body language that he was not allowed to leave.

He nervously fumbled with the pen in front of him. Cas took it out of his hand.

He looked at Victoria, "He was going to try to 'Dexter' his way out of here. I don't know what that means, but I figured it would not be good."

Castiel transferred the pertinent knowledge to Victoria's mind and she began the questioning.

"They have your son?"

The coroner nodded nervously. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I've been hiding the other bodies, saying they were animal attacks, but the Sheriff, she saw this one before I could make out the death certificate."

"How many bodies?"

He fidgeted nervously. Castiel grabbed his tie and pulled him forward, surprising Victoria.

"How many?" He growled.

"Four, four."

Castiel let go of his grip and the man sat back. "I'm not working with them, they just, they just, threatened my family and now they have my son!" He started crying into his hands.

"We'll get your son back." Cas added, reassuringly.

Victoria marveled at how quickly Cas changed from 'I'm going to get information Angel' to 'comforting Angel'.

"How many of them are there?" Victoria was trying to gauge what they were up against.

"Three." The man mumbled into his hands.

"Do you know what they are?"

The man peeked at Victoria through his fingers, like when there is a scary part in a movie. "No."

Okay. "Do you know where they are?"

He shook his head.

* * *

Victoria drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "We probably shouldn't go around searching for them blind."

Cas urgently put his fingers to her forehead. "Can you not see Victoria?"

She giggled. "It's a saying, Castiel. Meaning that we should probably ascertain what we are up against before we go to fight them."

Castiel nodded.

Why did she have this itch to call Sam and Dean? Speaking of itch… She pulled down her shirt a bit to look at her chest. The Grace was behaving itself today, good.

Cas looked at her wearily.

"I'm fine. It's actually not bothering me today."

His eyes narrowed even further.

"Promise."

They needed a library.

* * *

Sam and Dean still had their guns drawn as they inspected the room. It was sterile. There was a stainless-steel examining table, a freezer, various petri dishes, plastic containers, microscopes. It was an examining room and a lab.

Dean's heart froze, he looked at his brother. Dean wanted to explode. He wanted to kick over everything in that God-forsaken place. He wanted to take his anger out on anything and everything in his way. But he couldn't, not with Sammy looking like that.

"Sam…" Dean put his gun back in his waistband and carefully approached his brother.

Sam stood there, shaking, frozen, unable to move.

"Sammy?" A plea, a helpline.

"Dean?" It was a whimper, a cry out for his older brother.

"I'm here Sammy." Dean wrapped his arms around his brother from behind and buried his face into his back. It was a total chick-flick moment, but his brother was on the edge of collapse. "I'm here."

After a few minutes of standing there, Dean was able to get Sam back into the Impala. It wasn't easy as he pretty much had to drag his Sasquatch of a brother.

Dean called Agent Brooks, told her the location of the warehouse and what they pretty much knew went on there. Agent Brooks said she would try to get fingerprints. She too, sounded defeated.

They were driving, just driving. Dean didn't have a location and he didn't know what his brother needed. He kept tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and bouncing his leg. Sam was quiet, dangerously quiet. He didn't like Sam this quiet.

"Sam."

"Not now." He managed to mumble, his head against the glass.

"Look, we don't even know if it worked, or where…"

"Not now, Dean!" There he was.

Dean could deal with angry Sam. "What do you need Sammy?"

Sam looked dangerous. "The doctor."

* * *

Victoria was on her laptop at the local library, which was small, but quaint. She got some BBQ from a local stand and got Cas to eat some. She enjoyed eating with someone and was grateful she could give Cas human taste buds. They both had a cup of coffee in front of them. Cas had the case file strewn out in front of him at one of the library tables. They convinced the coroner to give them the other case files as well, before they left him. He was distraught and Victoria felt pity, but she knew they were doing what they could to get his son.

The Sandman and Mo'o taught her a lesson, be prepared. Being a cocky Chosen One would get her killed. And although she knew she would end up in Heaven, and had never been afraid to die, this time was different. This time she had men who _needed_ her. Damn it all, Victoria had started using the Winchester's word for love.

Castiel looked at his phone.

_Call me._

From Dean. Castiel excused himself and stepped outside the library.

* * *

"Hey Cas."

"Dean." How the angel could put so much meaning into just his name Dean would never know.

"We uh, we found the evidence Sam was looking for."

Cas put his head against the brick wall that made up the library.

There was a pause on both ends of the line.

"What are we going to do, Dean?"

"Sam wants to find the doctor."

Cas understood.

"He…" Dean paused. "Sammy wants to see what information he knows."

"I will help."

"I know, Cas." Pause, again. "Can't we just ever catch a break man?"

Cas pursed his lips at the pain in Dean's voice. A pain he was accustomed to, unfortunately.

Dean needed distraction. "So, how's the case going there?"

Cas slightly smiled as he sat on one of the benches. Normalcy, well for them. "We don't know what it is. Or what they are. There's three and they have the coroner's son."

"Damn."

"Yes, it is not an ideal situation."

"Do you need us, man?"

Cas thought, eyes narrowed. "I would say yes, however, I am unsure of how Sam is going to be around Victoria. At least until he finds the Doctor."

Dean knew that. But getting into a semi-regular hunt seemed the way to get rid of some of this tension.

"Yeah, man, I uh thought of that too, but you know how hunts kinda help us out sometimes, get us back in the groove? Maybe it'll help Sammy, let him work on the doctor thing as a long game."

"Whatever you think, Dean."

* * *

Victoria looked up lore after lore and finally came to a conclusion.

Cas looked up at her.

"Hybrids?"

Victoria nodded.

Cas's brow furrowed. "Like in Vampire Diaries?"

Victoria blinked rapidly. She had a secret. A deep, dark secret. And this secret could be discovered right here, right now. Her nostrils flared, her posture straightened, she licked her lips and sighed. "Yes, Castiel, like that."

She knew of only one other being whose blue eyes could rival that of the Angel sitting across from her, and that man was on that show.

Castiel nodded, completely serious. "So, a vampire and a werewolf mated, and hybrids were the result. They are probably siblings, creating their own type of nest or pack."

Victoria agreed.

Castiel continued, "My Father made precautions so that could not happen in the 'natural' world." Victoria always smirked at his use of air quotes.

"Like mules."

"Yes. They are unable to procreate."

Victoria got one of the town's free maps from the library stand. She placed it back on the table. "All right, let's see if I can sense these guys."

* * *

"No, Dean."

Dean rolled his head back and forth and released a deep sigh. "Look man, your girl misses you. All right? If we're right on this, then we have a while. Okay? So, let Agent Brooks do her thing, and we'll go from there."

The youngest Winchester glared at his brother. "Now, Dean."

Dean lightly pounded Baby's steering wheel. "Dammit Sammy! Just, let's go home. We'll figure it out, just like we always do."

"If you won't go with me, I'll just go by myself."

Dean had had it. He understood, he did. He was pissed too. But he didn't see how anything could get done this way. He was an experienced hunter, completely different from the boy desperately trying to find his father all those years ago. This Dean knew that sometimes plans were required. Although he usually let Sammy make them. But Sam obviously wasn't doing that now. This Dean had been through hell and back, literally. This Dean knew that the Doctor was a long game, and they needed help.

"Sam, look…" Dean tried to phrase in the most sensical way possible to convince his little brother. "You know I will go anywhere with you. You know that. But just, hear me out, okay? We have nothing to go on, but Agent Brooks, she does. And uh, for some reason, Tor probably, she wants to help us, okay? So, let's let her do her job, while you spend time with your girl, and I have my bed, and mom. And Cas, and Jack, and that dumbass big ole dog."

Sam slightly smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I just…"

Dean knew. "I know, Sammy. I do. And trust me, we will get this bastard, and we will get down to the bottom of this, and we will…" he hesitated. "Do everything we need to. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Victoria closed her eyes and ran her fingers along the map, hoping to hear them. She could feel the grace moving around her heart, but it didn't itch. She refocused on her fingers and the map.

"_This child is needy. Can't we just eat it?"_

_There was a deep growl. "No, Samson. He is our leverage."_

"_What do we need leverage over that dumbass for?" _

_Another growl. "He keeps our kills quiet. Don't you like living here?" _

"_So what, we're gonna keep the kid until he manages to somehow cover up this one?"_

"_He will." _

"_The Sheriff already saw it Delilah, there's no chance." _

_Deepest growl yet. "He will!" _

Victoria's eyes popped open. She looked at the map.

"Here."

She typed the address into Google maps. "It's a subdivision?"

She and Castiel didn't have the element of surprise. As an Angel of the Lord supernaturals had a pretty good chance of identifying him on sight. And Victoria was the same. Otherwise she would have gone with a whole 'we just moved into the neighborhood and wanted to come by and say hi' bit.

Chances are, if they recognized them, which they would, they would take the kid. Victoria was fairly sure they could be smited, smitten, what word to use? But she didn't want to take a chance with the kid. Crap on a frickin' cracker. How was Dean this influential in the manner in which her thoughts thought?

She needed a distraction while she found the boy. As long as the boy was safe, the hybrids could be taken down easily. Or fairly easily. She sat drumming her fingers on the table. Hostages always made things more complicated. Frickin' monsters.

"So, we have to find the kid, get him safe, and then kill the hybrids."

"You are contemplating how to find the child?"

Victoria nodded. "I need a distraction."

Cas lowered his head and furrowed his brow. "A natural one."

She nodded.

* * *

Victoria had her phone on speaker sitting crisscross-applesauce on the hotel bed.

"I need a human distraction, Castiel and I would be discovered on sight. The humans need to knock on the door with some cookies or something, seemingly normal, while Castiel and I look for the boy, get him to safety, and then kill the hybrids."

"Like on Vampire Diaries?" Dean let slip.

"Yes, like that."

Both Victoria and Dean were quiet for a moment.

"Where's Sam?"

"I'm right here, Tor."

Victoria's chest itched. Castiel noticed her scratching and sat by her.

"Are you okay?" Oh. The emotion that came out with those three words flooded her. She wanted Sam to tell her everything and hated to admit that she was a bit hurt when he didn't. She hated that she cared so damn much.

The itching intensified. Castiel, with a concerned countenance, removed her hand from her chest and replaced it with his. At this point he was sitting behind her, and she found herself relaxing her body into his. The Grace calmed.

"I'm fine."

Code for definitely not okay. Victoria winced.

"Okay."

No one said anything for a solid minute.

"Uh, you want us to be your distraction Tor? We're a while out yet, but I think we can be there tomorrow afternoon?"

Could she face Sam? She would have to sooner or later. She missed him terribly, but she knew there was something holding him back, something new. Something he felt he had to keep from her, and that thought? That thought scared the hell out of her.

"Only if you both get some rest."

"Yeah, we'll stop at a motel on the way, get our four."

"Sam?" The way that sounded, the pitifulness, the pain, the longing she expressed in just his name angered her. How did she allow herself to become this person? The person who was resting in the arms of an Angel and practically crying the name of the man she grew to love?

"Tor?"

She could hear the pain in his voice too. What was this? What were they facing? She shivered slightly and Castiel wrapped his other arm around her as well. She became even more embarrassed. But the weariness, the worry, the strain of the day made her care less about the embarrassment and more about the comfort. Son of a frickin' bitch! She was now co-dependent, just like the rest of them. She cared less than she thought she should.

"I, uh…" She hesitated, unable to say it, unable to force the words out. "be safe."

She could almost feel him closing his eyes, almost felt the wince, the pursed lips. Whatever it was, was going to be bad.

"You too."

When she ended the call, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. God, she was annoyed by herself.

Victoria Doyle re-positioned herself in the arms of the Angel and fell asleep.

* * *

"_You know, I never catch anything here." Dean took a sip of his beer and motioned for Cas to sit down. _

"_Is that really the point of fishing, Dean? Isn't it more the solitude, the appreciation of nature? The peace?" _

"_Not really in the philosophical mood Cas. How's yours doing?" _

"_She is asleep, in my arms. I feel the grace, Dean, when it bothers her. It yearns." _

"_Yearns?" _

"_It is the only way I know how to explain it. As if it is trying to mend her heart, but causes irritation instead, because it is foreign." _

"_So…?" _

"_I do not believe my Grace soothes the Grace inside her. I believe the comfort does." _

"_Victoria is strong as hell, what's going on, man?" _

"_Needing comfort is not a sign of weakness, Dean, although I can see how you would both think that. You are very similar." _

"_Yeah, well, she's like you too, buddy." _

_Cas thought, his face pensive, "She is like Victoria Doyle." _

"_Damn straight." _

"_She misses Sam and doesn't understand." _

_Dean sighed. "Yes, he's uh, on a mission now Cas, but I think I calmed him down. He agreed to go back home and figure this out over the long haul." _

_Cas nodded. "Will he discuss this with her?" _

_Dean pinched his nose. "I don't think so, man." _

_Cas bowed his head. "So, the lie will fester."_

* * *

_Victoria was in the chair again, IV's in her arm. She could hear them, slightly. They were discussing her. _

"_What's up doc?" _

_Stupid laughter. _

"_Shut up!" _

"_All right, all right. What do you want me to do with her?" _

"_Bring her in here." _

"_Kay. You want the IV's or no?" _

"_No." _

_Victoria felt him ripping the IV out. Blood squirted in his face. "Bitch!" He wiped it off. He started to pick her up and she squirmed, fighting against him as much as possible. He pulled a syringe out of his pocket and stuck it in her arm violently. _

_Darkness. _

Victoria awoke with a start. Castiel pulled her back to him. Her grace was itching powerfully as it wrapped around her heart, trying to calm it.

"Cas..." unable to say the whole name.

"I'm here."

God she was embarrassed. She felt silly, weak, this was not her. She was the woman who took down vamps and werewolves single-handedly. She was not the woman who collapsed into a man's arms. Well, angel's arms.

"What time is it?"

"Three in the morning."

Of course it was. She allowed herself to lean back into him, accepting the comfort her heart so desperately needed. Screw it.

"Sorry about the grace thing."

"I do not mind physical interaction with humans, Victoria. Oftentimes, I find it comforting. Holding my Father's greatest creation in my hands."

Okay, so Castiel got a 10/10 for comforting on that one. She allowed her face to relax and tried to forget her dream.


	43. Part 2: Chapter 18

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so, so much to everyone who chose to follow / favorite / and review this tale! Y'all mean so much to me as an author!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Show, Movie, Song, and/or Book referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter Warnings:__ Angst and Violence _

Chapter 18

Hearts

"I don't know if we should be going there, Dean." Sam Winchester was uncertain how to face the woman he cared so much about when he knew something that would upend her entire world.

"You heard the woman, Sammy, she needs a distraction." He looked at himself in the rear view mirror. "And I am one hell of a distraction."

"Dean."

"Seriously, Sam. How long are you planning on not seeing your girl?"

"Just until I can figure this out, and then come to her with what we know."

"She misses you man."

Sam furrowed his brow. "Dude, it's Victoria, I'm probably the one pining."

Dean could not handle this part of his brother. The part that couldn't understand someone choosing to want him after everything he had done. Not that he couldn't say the same for himself. But this was getting ridiculous, how often had Dean told him? How often had Victoria herself told Dean her feelings about Sam? Confessed it even?

"After all you two have been through, really? She loves you, Sammy. Plain as day." The word was foreign to him, came out in a jolt, even though he was not admitting love on his own account.

"Dean, just because she told us that when her soul was cloaked doesn't mean…"

Dean put his head in the hand that was propped up on the window. "She's sleeping on Cas, man."

"On him?" Sam furrowed his brow, obviously confused.

"Yeah, like, on him. Cas thinks it's cause she needs comfort and that only started since we left, so… whatever your guilt-ridden ass wants to make out of that." Dean regretted it as soon as it came out. He winced.

Sam sat back in his seat and rubbed his eyes with both hands. He laughed sardonically. "I'm being like Dad, so hell-bent on the revenge that I can't see what I have in front of me. And how I was acting right after Jess. It just burns in me, and I want to kill the bastard's ass right then."

Dean hadn't thought of his dad's letter since the introduction of Loki, now it all came rushing back.

"Yeah, Sammy. Don't be like Dad. Revenge is normal. Well, for us. And we'll get it, I promise, we just gotta enjoy what we can too, ya know?"

There was silence for a few minutes.

"How'd you know that, about Cas?"

"He told me."

"Not on the phone."

"What? Of course he told me on the phone."

"I've been around for every one of your phone conversations, Dean." Sam smirked. "You two are having dream vacations again."

"Shut up Sammy."

* * *

Victoria Doyle looked at the two machetes with silver blades laying on her bed. She had asked Cas to get them from the bunker. She wanted to make sure her very human friends were as well-protected as they could be. She also put seven silver bullets beside each of the blades, just in case.

"Hybrids, really?" Dean said as he came through the hotel room door.

"Dean." Cas's response was relief and worry all mixed into one.

"Hey buddy." Dean gave him a quick hug and a pat on the back.

Sam smiled sadly as he entered the room. The smile had become his trademark almost, a smile that tried to hide whatever emotion he was truly feeling and replace it with a false sense of hope that he tried to convey. But all that it really conveyed was the pain. "Hey Tor."

She forgot everything when she saw him. Her anger, her annoyance, her fear. It was just like that day at the safe house, where he forgave her instantly for not telling them about her plans. Except in the reverse. She had so many things she wanted to know from him, so many questions, but she wouldn't ask, wouldn't demand, not from him. Sam Winchester was her weakness. And she knew that one day he would probably be her downfall.

"Sam." She went to him and placed her arms around his neck. He dropped his bag and quickly hugged her back, tension dropping from his body as he held her against him. Everything flooded his mind, what he knew and what she didn't, the probable future they would have to face, the knowledge of where she had been held and the evidence of what she had done.

"I will tell you everything, when I can." He whispered into her hair.

Dean rolled his eyes at the total chick flick moment, but he was smiling. He and Cas sat on the couch.

He looked at the blueprint on the table and whistled. "How'd you get these?"

Tor broke away and sat on the arm of the couch next to the hunter. Sam went to check out the weapons on the bed and reload his gun.

"The development is fairly new, so the contractor delivered them this morning."

Cas squinted. "He kept looking at me."

Victoria ran her tongue around her teeth, sharing a knowing look with Dean.

"Like the Luau, Cas?"

"I do not understand."

Dean nodded and scratched the skin near his nose with his thumb. "So, Sammy and I go in the front door, and you and Cas come in…"

Victoria pointed to the top story window.

Dean furrowed his brow.

She shrugged. "Wings."

"Keep forgetting about that." The tone was sullen, strange, almost rueful? Victoria couldn't place it.

"Dean, gun."

The elder hunter took his 45 out of his waistband and tossed it to Sam.

"The bedrooms are all on the top floor, and chances are, he is in one of those. We will look together, going from the master…" Victoria pointed at each room as she spoke, "To the smallest bedroom. Then the bathrooms and linen closet if he is not in there."

"And what is our cover?"

Victoria handed him a silver cross.

"Again?"

"You know a lot about it."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Castiel will keep an open line with you, and if he hears anything, he will leave me and come to you."

She saw Sam tense, more sensed it, out of the corner of her eye.

She continued, "They are hybrids, which lends itself to the belief that I can smite them."

"And if you can't?"

Victoria looked at the man she felt like she had waited forever to see, when it had really only been a few short days, but they weren't short, not for her: "I'll rip its head off."

Dean gave an 'huh, that should work' look before getting up. "All right, where's the religious get up?"

Cas narrowed his eyes.

* * *

Dean texted Tor telling them they were going to be walking up to the house in around five minutes.

"How ya doing Sammy?"

Sam nodded. "Seeing her helped."

Dean patted his brother on the back, "See, I was right. As usual."

Sam rolled his eyes.

They both straightened their priest suits before knocking on the door.

A young woman, around twenty-two answered. "Hello?"

Sam bowed his head. "Hello, we are Fathers Schmidtke and Burgson from the local church. We were hoping to be able to talk with you for a moment about a neighborhood watch the congregation is enacting in order to combat and prevent crime in our area."

The brothers nodded solemnly.

"Uh, sure?" The woman didn't want to do anything to go against the neighborhood, they liked it there.

Sam smiled sweetly. "Do you have a husband, brother, sister, or partner perhaps that would also like to join in on our discussion?"

"Yeah." She called over her shoulder. "Hey, Samson, Goliath, there's some priests to talk to us about the neighborhood."

There were heavy footsteps on the stairs. "They'll be right here. Uh, you wanna sit down?"

"Please." The sweet, sincere smile again. Sam Winchester was really damn good at his job.

The two male hybrids looked at their sister and men sitting on their couch questioningly. "Are these men here for dinner Del?"

If the men were anything but hunters they may have missed the growl in the woman's voice. But because they were hunters they were able to pretend they didn't hear anything.

"We are sorry to intrude, we are here on behalf of Saint Anne's, we are canvassing the neighborhood and discovering potential interest in developing a watch." Sam pushed the glasses he was wearing up on the bridge of his nose and smiled.

Dean kept noticing the males staring at his cross. He also kept an ear open on the upstairs, or a mind as was the case.

The girl looked back at her brothers harshly, "Yeah, for our neighborhood. Sit down."

* * *

Castiel opened the upstairs bedroom window angelically, preventing any noise. They stepped onto the carpeted floor silently. Cas had his angel blade by his side, Victoria her Kimber. They began a silent search of the bedroom. They looked to each other and shook their heads when their search had been futile.

The second bedroom proved the same way, absolutely nothing, except some copies of a magazine Dean occasionally bought under the twin bed.

Then they heard it, a cry. This kid was young. Victoria mouthed 'go' to Cas and he disappeared.

She quickly scrambled to the third bedroom to reach the boy before one of the hybrids did.

* * *

"Waaah!…"

Sam plastered on that smile once again.

"Do you have a child here?"

When the three turned around to face the brothers after looking up the stairs to follow the noise, they saw the two hunters standing in front of them with machetes.

Samson and Goliath barred their teeth and their eyes went yellow, and slightly morphed into wolfish faces.

Delilah ran up the stairs.

"This is so not like Vampire Diaries."

Dean swung, but Samson ducked, then he took on his four-legged form.

Sam was having the same luck. His swing also missed, but Goliath caught his hand, and blade. He grinned as his strength began to overpower the hunter. Sam took the opportunity of the hybrid's distraction at his presumed victory to grab his gun with his free hand and shoot the hybrid in the chest, making the creature stumble back. The opportunity gave Sam the ability to swing the blade accurately, decapitating the creature.

Its head rolled until it reached the feet of Castiel.

Dean kept missing the wolf with extra sharp teeth by mere centimeters, as the wolf missed biting him in kind. They were so close to killing one another, and yet neither could get the upper hand. "Son of a Bitch, he won't stand frickin' still!"

Cas grabbed the creature by the skin on its back and held it up to Dean. He neatly cut its head off. Cas dropped the body.

"Where's the third one?"

They ran to follow Sam up the stairs.

* * *

Victoria saw the baby on the floor. He couldn't have been any more than six months. At least he wouldn't remember this. She scooped him up and held him tight to her, his head resting in the space where her shoulder met the base of her neck.

She could hear the female hybrid behind her in the doorway.

_Not my leverage. This is MY HOUSE!_

"Put it down!"

Victoria turned around. "Pretty sure you already know my response."

The creature was trying to figure out its plays. She knew if she attacked Victoria in hand to hand, she would risk damaging it, and damaging her leverage.

_Damn hunters! _

"That's not nice." She was most definitely stalling, trying to avoid shooting a gun so close to the kid's ears, and knowing one of her guys would be there soon to smite and/or behead the thing. She didn't care which.

* * *

At the top of the staircase was, another staircase? Sam stopped, knowing this wasn't right.

"Cas?"

The Angel looked around, defeated. "It's a mirage."

"A what?"

"A spell. No matter how many stairs we go up, we will never reach the second floor."

"Friggin' witches!"

"What if we go in the way that you and Victoria came in?"

Castiel closed his eyes, "We are stuck here, Sam."

"Stuck? Oh no, no damn witch is gonna stick me anywhere." Dean started pounding the walls, trying to find some sort of escape.

Sam furrowed his brow, "So, the female wasn't a hybrid, but a tribrid?" He turned to Cas, "Is Victoria susceptible to magic?"

* * *

Something was most definitely wrong, those three did not need this much time. Victoria knew this was just her, this hybrid, and the kid. And oh, how the kid complicated matters. She hadn't fought real hand to hand in a while and wouldn't mind an opportunity with this absolute bitch.

_She's stalling_.

"You're waiting for your men? Oh honey, they're not gonna show. I'm sure they already killed my brothers, I mean, those two were all brawn and no brains. And do I smell Angel?"

Victoria held the child tighter.

"So, here's my thing. I'm kind of a big deal in the monster world. You know why?"

"You're a hybrid?"

She snorted on a laugh. "Okay, so you're kind of clever, but not totally. So, actually no. I mean my brothers were, but I not only inherited my mother's vampirism but also her witchcraft. And my father was a pure-blood of course."

"Of course."

Crap. Crap. Crap.

"So, my colleagues?"

"Oh, they're fine. Just stuck in an infinite stairwell."

"Fun times."

"You know witches can sometimes even get the upper hand on Angels? It's surprisingly easy if they're devoted to humans and follow them around like puppies."

_What Angel even does that? So fricking weird. _

"Can I have the kid back?"

"You wanted to eat him, so no."

"Correction, super-human eavesdropper, my brother wanted to eat him. I just wanted to keep him until that coroner could cover up my brother's stupid murder. I just want a home. Is that so wrong?"

"It wouldn't be, except I know that's a lie. You have to feed on humans."

"So, what's so different between my feeding and yours?"

"I don't eat things with souls."

"You sure?"

Now, why was she stalling? Of course, the kid. She didn't want to go hand to hand either. But why not use magic? Could she not? Rowena used magic to get the evil out of her, but it wasn't exactly a spell on her, it was half science, half magic. Was she immune to magic?

Well, that answer came with a wail of pain as Victoria dropped to her knees. She could feel the Grace that so often surrounded her heart flow to her stomach. The grace scratched slightly, but was nothing compared to the pain. She saw her nose drip onto the floor. Well, she might as well attempt to make this a full show. She still had both hands on the baby, whose wailing ceased as its pudgy arms encompassed Victoria's neck.

She looked up at the tribrid with her deep purple eyes glowing.

_What the hell is that? _

"You like seeing my blood? Let's see if we can turn it up for you."

Victoria concentrated deeply as she had never attempted this with any other type of creature besides a demon or Archangel. She looked at the creature in front of her, closed her eyes, and imagined her kneecaps breaking.

"Arrgh!"

The creature fell to the ground, her hands attempting to catch her. She saw Delilah's eyes turn to amber as she was changing into a wolf to speed healing and change from her more breakable human form.

Victoria smirked, some of the blood from her nose dripping into her mouth.

Glowing amber eyes matched violet ones.

Its charge was going to be sudden, Delilah no longer cared for the child, but Victoria did. She was able to roll out of way, causing the thing to crash sudden into the window, not breaking it, but angering the creature. The Grace had soothed her stomach, if not healed it, and Victoria was able to race to the doorway. She closed the door just as the creature slammed against it.

She pulled one of her arms from around the baby to pull out her gun. But she couldn't pull the slide back without both hands.

"Crap!" She quickly put it back in her coat and ran into the master bedroom and shut the door, knowing the tribrid would be escaping quickly.

Sitting on the bed and rocking the baby, she once more closed her eyes and began to concentrate. This time she focused on the heart, hoping like hell it would explode.

She heard a deep howl and went to open the door. Delilah was in the hallway, laying on the floor, but still breathing.

Victoria tried to run downstairs but she couldn't get there. It was blocked by the same magic keeping Sam, Dean, and Cas out.

She ran into the second bedroom and gently put the baby on the floor of the closet, closing all doors behind her as she headed back to the hall.

Victoria put both of her hands on either side of the tribrid's head, which jolted her awake. The creature grabbed Victoria around the middle and switched their positions.

"You are an annoying bitch. Where's the kid?"

Victoria grinned, bloody teeth exposed. "Gone."

"Like hell he is." She started to get up.

Victoria still had a grip on the thing's head and headbutted her. Which really frickin' hurt, she could feel the grace surge to her temples. She was giving that stuff a workout. She could see why Ezekiel thought it would be an advantage, even though it itched.

The stun caused such a shock in the tribrid that Victoria was able to switch their positions once again. She sat on Delilah's stomach and placed a palm on her forehead. With much more concentration than was ever needed before, with more will than she had used for any creature, she willed it to die.

Delilah was a very unwilling participant in this activity. She kept trying to curse Victoria, but her magic was dwindling. There was some additional pain in her stomach, as well as what Victoria surmised was a broken arm, but the grace came to the rescue each time. She finally felt the tribrid's life force leave her, and with a sigh, she sat on the body's side.

She narrowed her eyes at the creature. Victoria dragged the body to a sitting position, grabbed a handful of hair and ear in each hand and twisted as hard as she could.

In her hands she held the bloody head, with sinew attached. "Gross." She threw it into the third bedroom as she went to get the baby.

He reached his arms out to her. "Hi kiddo. You've had a rough go of it huh?"

Once she had the kid nestled into her neck again she turned around to see Sam Winchester, with a look on his face that she couldn't read. He was having those more lately.

"Hey. I got the kid." She smiled broadly, completely forgetting blood was running down her face. He hugged her anyway, being careful of the boy in her arms. He kissed the top of her head.

"Tor, you look like hell."

"Thanks Dean. I was hoping our friendly neighborhood Angel could fix that."

Cas titled his head, "You want me to heal you?"

"Yes. Tribrid's are a… challenge. However, we can now add them to our ever-growing list of creatures titled…"

"What the literal Hell." Dean interjected.

"Yes, that."

Cas healed her with a touch, erasing the blood. "Your grace, is, active."

"Yes, challenge."

"Did you do this?" Dean had walked out of the room and came back with Delilah's head.

Tor nodded.

"Awesome."

* * *

Cas and Dean burned the bodies while they were waiting on the Sheriff.

The boy had fallen asleep on Victoria's chest and she and Sam were sitting on the couch. She snuggled into him, causing his arm to drape over her and touch the child. His hand recoiled. She scooted back.

"I'm sorry. I was tired and forgot where we were."

"No, Tor, it's not that. I want to be near you wherever we are."

"And I you."

"And with Jack, it's fine, because he's ours, or yours. I will always, always be here for you, and yours."

"He is ours Sam. As long as you'll have both of us."

Sam's face became pained, sad. "Tor, I, I never want you to leave. Or Jack. Or anyone who is yours."

Victoria was very, very confused. "Like Lizzie?"

"Yeah, like that. Or just anyone that is…" Sam sighed. "I don't know, I'm tired too I guess."

"You took down a hybrid in around thirty seconds according to Dean, so, you deserve to be tired. Movie at the hotel?" She smiled, hoping to see some of her Sam there.

"Definitely. And salad?"

She was thinking cheeseburger, but, "Of course."

* * *

Finding a movie everyone could agree on was well, difficult. Victoria remembered one she watched in a film class in college that was titled _Yojimbo_. It was a Japanese film about a Samurai who came into a corrupt town and cleaned house. Dean liked it because it was based on American Westerns, Sam liked it because it had subtitles and was a classic, Cas liked it because he could show off his language skills, and Victoria liked it because it had a badass lead.

She shifted until she was completely comfortable in Sam's arms, the Grace at complete rest.

Huh. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. In the fight with the tribrid the grace went to where she was injured. So, the last few days her heart had been hurting. How cliché.

She looked over at Castiel. He knew too but didn't want to tell her. Wanted to let her think it was his grace that soothed it and not his friendship. Sweet angel. He knew her well enough to know which one would hurt her pride the least.

These men were hers. And although all three of them were keeping some catastrophic secret from her, she knew she would fight tooth and nail to save every last one of them.


	44. Part 2: Chapter 19

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so, so much to all the wonderful readers of this story! Your reviews / follows / favorites mean so much as an author! Thank you so, so much!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Shows, Movies, Books, and/or Songs referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter Warnings:__ Victoria and Sam are dealing with the effects of Lucifer using them, this results in a panic attack. This chapter is angsty, but I tried to put a little fluff in here as well. As always, please let me know if there is anything y'all would like to see. Thanks so much for reading!_

Chapter 19

Home

"Need it?"

Victoria laughed.

"No, knead it." She put the dough on the counter between her and her nephew. "Take the palms of your hands.." She held her right hand up and pointed to the bottom of the inside of her hand, "and roll the dough out, like this." She began to push the dough out with her hands, then folding it in on itself and repeating the process a few times.

"Then, you pat it down with your knuckles." She showed him how to do that as well. She folded the dough over on itself again and repeated the process again. "Now you try."

She sipped her coffee as she watched Jack put so much concentration into the sticky dough. He looked at his hands perplexed.

"Sprinkle flour from the pile we put next to the workstation."

He did, marveling at how the dough once again became a cohesive pile. He kneaded it a few more times, just as she had instructed.

"Okay, now we put it back in the bowl that we buttered to rest."

"Rest?"

"Yes, so the yeast we used can work again, making it rise."

Jack nodded. "Can I have some coffee?"

She smiled, thinking about how her nephew told her on the phone while she was working the hybrid case that he only liked it the way she fixed it.

"Of course." She got up to make his cup and refill her own when she felt hands slip around her waist.

"I hope we didn't wake you."

"No, I felt when you left, but went back to sleep for a while. Is that an apple pie on the table?"

Victoria nodded. She reached up to get another cup from the cupboard to make Sam's coffee.

"The crust didn't take long to make because it didn't have to rest." Jack was so pleased with his baking knowledge.

"Tell your Uncle where the apples came from."

"Washington!"

"What?" Sam was still holding her, his voice was muffled as his head was halfway buried in her hair.

"Flying lessons are going wonderfully."

Sam whipped around to Jack, who winked at him.

Sam snorted a laugh, wondering where the kid had learned that.

Victoria turned around and handed Sam his coffee and placed Jack's in front of him. He was watching the dough.

"Oh my God, pie for breakfast?! Tor, are you sure you're not the angel in this house?"

Cas followed Dean into the kitchen, narrowing his eyes at him, obviously displeased with the joke.

"I thought Jack and I would give you a break. The pie is all yours, we're making cinnamon rolls for everyone else."

Dean got two mugs out and began to make his and Mary's coffee. "Do you want some, Cas?"

"Yes."

Dean rolled his eyes at the lack of pleasantries and got out another mug.

Cas tilted his head towards Jack and Victoria. "Did you two not sleep well?"

Victoria smiled sweetly at her nephew who allowed his eyes to leave the dough to look at his surrogate father.

"We had a similar dream to the last one, and just decided to get up, and bake. I told Jack it always helps me when there is a situation I cannot control."

Sam suddenly became very interested in his coffee. Dean handed the cup he made up to Cas before taking one of the others to his mom.

"Similar?"

Victoria sat down across from Jack, and held onto the mug, trying to let the warmth soothe her as her chest began to itch. "Yes, just differed in voices. This time it sounded like they were in a store?"

Sam sat down at the other end of the table and Cas sat next to him. "Buying what?"

"Clothes?"

"Do you think someone is trapped in a clothing store Dad? Someone that we need to go save?"

Cas actually preferred that option. "Maybe, Jack."

"How would we know where they are?"

"We can continue to work cases as normal, and hope that we come across this one."

Jack nodded, his eyes turning back to the glass bowl.

Dean came back in, got his coffee and a fork, and sat next to Jack. He took the pie that was currently in front of Sam and stuck his fork in.

"Oh. My. God. You're never leaving, Tor. Ever."

She smiled slightly as she got up to make more coffee. The dream had disturbed her more than she admitted. The voice was obviously buying maternity clothes, although Jack could not discern that. As she was teaching Jack to bake she was attempting to connect the dots. She only needed a bit more data. The itching grew worse and she began to absent-mindedly scratch her chest. She stood in front of the coffee maker, watching the drip.

"Aunt Victoria, it's at the top of the bowl, is it ready?"

Her nephew's voice shook her from her stupor. She turned around. All four of them were staring at her, reminding her of when she first moved in. With one half-angelic addition.

"Yes." She resumed her seat and sipped from her coffee. "So, turn it upside down and put the bowl in the sink." When he came back, she continued the instructions. "Okay, so you remember our perimeter lessons?"

"Yes." He seemed less than thrilled.

"Okay, so, make the dough an approximate rectangle that is roughly eight inches by twelve inches and then tell me the estimate of the perimeter, and area." He looked perplexed and she pointed to the rolling pin next to him.

He did an almost perfect job. "Forty-inch perimeter and ninety-six inches squared."

She smiled. "Perfect. Now, get the butter we left out of the fridge earlier, and spread it out evenly on the rolled-out dough."

They were all enjoying watching the kid. They all took a certain level of pride in him. Dean was impressed with his progress and grew to like the kid a bit more each day. He even thought about taking him to the park and tossing a football around with him like Bobby used to do with him and Sam. Sam enjoyed watching Victoria interact with Jack. It brought out a part of her personality he didn't know existed. This part that awed him with its understanding and kindness, and fierce protectiveness. Although, he shouldn't be too surprised at that. He had witnessed the ferocity before, regarding his own well-being. Sam also enjoyed having Jack around as a nephew. Jack represented a part of life he didn't think he would get to have as a hunter. Cas enjoyed being a father figure, something he never imagined experiencing as an Angel.

"Done!"

"Sprinkle the brown sugar, and cinnamon evenly, and then we'll roll it up."

Victoria walked over to his side to help with the last part. She expertly rolled the dough onto itself, making a perfect-looking roll. "Will you bring the buttered square baking dish over?" When Jack had done so, Victoria began to cut the roll into sections with dental floss.

"Is that… floss?" Dean took a break from his pie.

"Yes, it prevents the sections from 'squishing'." Jack learned air quotes from his dad.

"I couldn't think of a more technical term at the time." Victoria explained.

Dean nodded and continued eating.

They placed the rolls in the pan and Victoria popped them in the oven. "Set the timer for twenty minutes."

"Last step, glaze. We need milk and powdered sugar. I'll get the powdered sugar and you get the milk."

Jack nodded, all business.

Victoria put a cup of powdered sugar into a bowl and Jack was still looking in the fridge. "Aunt Victoria?"

"Hum?"

"Whole, two percent, fat free, or almond?"

Everyone looked at Sam accusingly. He just shrugged.

* * *

The day had passed without consequence. Dinner was prepared the way it used to be, with Mary and Victoria cooking and the boys doing the dishes. This time they were allowed to do some angelically, in order to stretch Jack's powers.

Victoria thought about the dream, and her chest began to itch. She knew a way to possibly get more data, but the mere thought of what she could discover terrified her.

Everyone in the bunker was doing their own thing. Jack was working on training Loki; the dog was smart, but stubborn. He would listen around fifty percent of the time. And since Jack gave him treats regardless, he saw no reason to obey constantly.

Dean and Sam had a pot of coffee between them with some ancient scrolls they found in the basement. They wrote the words or symbols out and had Cas make a cheat sheet. Then they would all translate together and Sam would type up the translation and save it in multiple, secure electronic ways.

Mary was reading a novel Victoria recommended. They enjoyed discussing the books once they both finished them. It was their own personal book club. They had to pick new releases considering Cas's transferred knowledge of all literature into her head. Whenever she would read the first few lines, or sometimes even got so far as chapters, the plot would come back to her, ruining the remainder of the book. Unfortunately, Metatron did not grant Cas with the knowledge of all the monsters of literature, or all literature about monsters. That would have been far too convenient.

Victoria was reading through the "B" monsters, knowing she would have to reread since she was only paying half of the attention she should. She knew what she wanted to ask of Castiel, but she didn't know how to separate him from the hunters. She knew they would just find out anyway, so she went to sit at their table.

"Castiel?"

All of three of them looked up from their work.

"Yes Victoria?"

She sighed, anticipating the reluctance she would get from all sides. She dug her thumbnail into a groove that was on the solid table with her left hand and began to scratch at her chest with her right.

"I would like for you to share your memory with me of the day you and Dean found me in the woods."

"No." Dean was emphatic. "Absolutely not, Tor. That wasn't you."

She sat back in her seat and tried to quell the itch. "Those dreams aren't coming from nowhere. I need all the information I can ascertain in order to form a theory."

Sam pursed his lips and closed his eyes. Victoria grabbed his left hand that was on the arm of the chair with both of hers. The itching let up a little. He smiled minutely at the gesture.

She swallowed her pride, and looked at the Angel with pleading eyes, "Please." She paused, taking a breath and unintentionally squeezing Sam's hand. "I know you all have noticed I haven't been the same ever since I came back, not including the whole soul thing. I was essentially soulless, then I was so weak walking was a chore, and now I'm more or less myself, and, I uh, I've been having flashbacks in my nightmares, and then dreams where I am an unborn child, I know that is what that it. Jack and I have those same dreams, and aside from my sister's DNA, the only other thing we share is the Grace, and if the Grace is the common factor then…" She couldn't continue, trailing off and looking at the floor.

Sam put his other hand on top of hers, pain filling every facial feature.

She looked up at him. "Oh, Sam. Was this your hunting trip?"

He nodded slowly, unable to lie to her anymore. Words couldn't find him.

She released her hands from his and sat back in her chair before getting up and heading out of the bunker.

Sam started to get up when Dean reached over to grab his arm. "Not now, Sammy."

"Dean, she…"

"Not now."

* * *

Victoria's chest was itching so furiously she thought she might scratch through to her heart. She felt her heartbeat fasten and her limbs go numb. She couldn't catch her breath. She sat down in the clearing behind the bunker's entrance to ground herself. She put her hands in the grass, gently letting the blades caress her palms. She felt the opening of a wild clover and tried to focus on the feel of the flower's soft, small petals. Suddenly the life of the clover ran through her mind, the flower emerging from the ground, the bud holding the clover's true beauty, the blooming, the bees that swarmed over and around it, the bee that drank its nectar, the hive the bee went to, and the honey that was collected by a beekeeper.

She leaned her head on Castiel's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Would you still like the memory?"

"No, I do not really see how that could help anymore."

"What do I do?" She felt a hot tear run down her cheek.

"It is what we will do."

"Can you access my memories from when I was drugged?"

Castiel paused, "Victoria, I, can we talk to Sam and Dean please?"

She nodded.

* * *

Sam Winchester had been the Devil's plaything ten years before he was even born. He was sought out and fed demon blood at the age of six months, and in an effort to protect him, his mother was killed by being burned on the ceiling, blood dripping from her body onto her baby below. He grew up without her and was cared for by his father and elder brother. A father who never even bothered to care about his son's interests and simply make him the perfect hunter. A father who left him and Dean alone for days on end and Dean would have to steal in order for the two to eat.

The woman whom he loved and wanted to marry was burned and killed the same way as his mother, two women he felt responsible for because he was the Devil's true vessel. He was tricked into drinking more demon blood, tricked into opening the last seal and releasing Lucifer into the world. A Lucifer he said "yes" to in order to save the world. A Lucifer who used his body to murder countless humans. The same Lucifer who tortured him in the cage. Who used his soul like a toy to the point where he can still smell the fire and brimstone sometimes in the middle of the night.

And since then? He has been mocked by him, tortured by him even more in hallucinations that caused him to live on the brink of sanity, watched him possess Cas and use him and Dean for his own selfish ends. Lucifer plagued Sam Winchester's life, and all Sam wanted from the time he was a boy was to be good. He even had faith, he prayed, he believed, he hoped.

And now Lucifer had managed to kidnap and pump his best friend, who just happened to be the woman he cared for deeply, full of evil sludge and use her to further his own evil purpose.

Sam Winchester had seen Lucifer use everyone he cared for like they didn't matter. This final act, however, was on the verge of breaking him. And why? Because he was in love with her. Neither of them could admit it to each other, not yet, but damn it, he did. He wanted to protect her, cherish her, care for her as she had never been cared for before; he wanted to let her know that she was more than enough for him. And instead the evil entity that so long had been entwined in his psyche, his physical being, and his life was now entwined in hers. And like so many other times before, he felt it was his fault.

Victoria read his demeanor as soon as she and Castiel walked into his room, where Dean was on the couch.

"No, no, no, Sam…" She practically ran to him and enveloped him in her arms. She was on her knees in the bed and pulled his head to her chest. She began to kiss the top of his head. He wrapped his arms around her.

Dean motioned for he and Cas to leave. They closed the door and Cas locked it from the other side.

"I'm so sorry I left you in there. I just needed a minute, I'm so sorry." She kept kissing his head and holding him to her.

Sam broke away and looked at her. Victoria brushed the hair out of his eyes. His eyes searched hers, as if he were looking for an answer in the sea of blue, now only rimmed by lavender. "He…" Sam stumbled.

"Is no longer part of the equation." She smiled lightly. "Our nephew ensured that."

"What he did to you…" Again, Sam faltered.

"Is no worse than what he did to you, Castiel, or Elizabeth."

Sam looked at his hands, "Except we agreed."

Victoria tilted his chin up, so he would look in her eyes. "To save the world. All three of you sacrificed your bodies to save the world. You are the best kind of people." She kissed his forehead. "And you, Sam Winchester, are my kind of person."

He allowed himself to rest his head back under hers. "You need me to be strong, and you're comforting me." He snorted out a laugh.

"Sam, I told you after Aristede that you could tell me anything and that it is not a burden. We can be strong for each other. As any healthy couple should be."

She winced, she let that word slip.

"Couple?"

Of course he picked up on that.

"I don't think it is too much of a surprise Sam Winchester. I think everyone knows but us."

He looked up at her, his eyes seeking a response to a statement he didn't make. She pressed her forehead to his, her hand stroking his cheek. She enjoyed looking into his eyes, she was never sure of the color she would see – which added to the overall surprise of Sam Winchester, the man who kept surprising her. There was a light knock at the door.

"Hey." Dean coughed.

Victoria smiled and sat back against the bed, Sam did the same.

"Come in."

Dean and Cas came in, Cas shut the door behind him, and they both sat on the couch.

Dean rubbed his chin and ran his hand over his lips. "What's our plan?"

"Perhaps we should share what we know, so we can come up with a theory."

They shared all the information they could, although Sam left out the part about the second kidnapper he killed. He said he heard Victoria shout "Doctor" in her sleep instead. Dean and Cas covered for him, although they knew it would all come out later. The lies always came out.

Victoria tried to remove herself from the situation as much as possible and access the situation analytically. However, she occasionally felt her hand move to her chest.

"How long do we intend to give Agent Brooks before we delve into my memories?"

Sam shut his eyes, wincing.

"Tor, you know what happens when we break the protection our screwed-up minds give us."

"It's not protection Dean, this isn't a trauma response, it is drugs."

"Still." Dean sat back on the couch; arms crossed.

Victoria bit her bottom lip, tearing at the skin without realizing it. "Tomorrow night, no longer."

Castiel was silent, not wanting to be a participant in her memories being surfaced. He had seen her body when no one else had. He healed her before she could see in a mirror. His vessel's nostrils flared, and he looked up, with his chin tucked in toward his chest, creating a fearsome illusion. "I will not help you recover those memories."

Everyone looked at the Angel in varying degrees of surprise.

"I have seen Sam and Dean go through every kind of pain imaginable. They are the two strongest men I know, and I would never want either one of them to see what you looked like when I brought you to your apartment, bathed you, and dressed you." He averted his eyes. "I healed you before you could see. Whatever caused those marks, I don't think I'm strong enough to witness without having the ability to intervene."

She sharply drew breath. "Okay."

Victoria went over to the Being who had treated her so kindly the last little bit. She smiled at him as she put her hand on his cheek. She closed her eyes and shared with him the feeling she experienced when he held her, the calmness that came over her. "You mean the world to me Castiel, I apologize for not considering your feelings before suggesting we go into my memories."

He nodded.

Victoria went back to sit next to Sam. "Well, this has been a very taxing day. We obviously have some very heavy things to deal with in the not so distant future. But, maybe we can end the day with a little Netflix?"

"Now, we're talking."

Dean plopped down by Tor, causing her to lay halfway on Sam. Dean scooted as close to her as possible. He patted the empty space beside him. "Come on Cas."

Victoria never thought there would be a time in her life when she would be sharing a bed with two hunters and an Angel, but she found herself enjoying it, this was her family.

* * *

"Where is everybody?" Mary Winchester asked, looking around the empty kitchen.

"Asleep in Sam's room." The angel answered.

"Everyone?" Mary inquired again, a look of disbelief washing over her features.

"Yes. Dean, Sam, and Victoria fell asleep while watching Netflix, and Jack went in there later, he sometimes needs the comfort. He missed Victoria."

Mary cracked the door to Sam's room and smiled at what she saw. Jack was turned to the side facing the wall, Dean was on his back next to him. Victoria was next to Dean curled into Sam who was also on his back. Loki was at the foot, sprawled out across all of them. Cas appeared next to her.

"They deserve so much better."

Mary patted him on the back and let her hand move to and remain on his shoulder. "You all do, Castiel."

He smiled at his shoes. "We better go before Dean realizes we're here."

Dean woke up in the middle of the biggest chick-flick moment of his entire life. "Oh hell no." He whispered to himself as he crawled out of the bed, his hunter skills enabling him to not wake anyone else up.

"Sleep well?" His mom asked when he made it to the kitchen.

"Yup."

She smiled into her mug. "Good."

Dean cleared his throat after getting his coffee and looked to his mom. "We, well me and Cas, uh, need to tell you something about Victoria before the rest of them wake up."

* * *

Mary didn't look up from her coffee for a while, not able to meet her son's eyes. Her boys, including Castiel, had managed to protect her from everything that goes bump in the night since her return, including the Devil himself. She had fought a lot of monsters back in her younger days and had been killed by a minion of Lucifer himself, but since she'd been back, she hadn't seen the ugly side. Nor had her boys allowed themselves to show her how it had affected them.

"Mom?" Dean asked gently.

"Umm, I'm fine." Mary smiled at her eldest son sweetly. "I just, I don't know what to say."

"Yeah, we uh, get the feeling."

"And Sam?"

Dean rubbed his forehead. "The kid is strong. Hell, they both are. But I think this one hits Sammy a little different because it's…"

"Lucifer." Cas interjected, self-loathing rife in his voice.

Dean breathed out a sigh and patted his best friend on the back. "Not your fault man, we've been over this."

"Dean, if I hadn't said yes..."

Dean put his face in both of his hands. "We get it, all right? But look man, with that thinking, hell, which one of us wouldn't be at fault? Huh? Me, you, Sammy, hell, even Mom." Dean flinched. "Mom, I'm…"

"No, you're right. If I hadn't made the deal, none of this would have happened. And I know that, and I live with that every day. But if I just let that take over? I wouldn't be any good to any of you. Amara gave me a second chance. And I'm not going to ruin it. So, I'm going to be here, for all you boys, and Victoria too. And whatever else is in our future. I'm here."

"Damn straight. And you, Cas? Hell, what is this now, your seventeenth chance? Just live it out man, okay? Just be with your family and help us with whatever crap we come up against."

"Always."

Dean got out of his chair. "I better start breakfast. I have a feeling our sleeping beauties will be up soon."

* * *

"Morning Sunshines!" Dean announced as he put a plate of ham and cheese omelets on the middle of the table and one vegetarian one as Sam, Victoria, and Jack came into the kitchen.

Victoria poured and made up three cups of coffee, set two down in front of Sam and Jack, and gave Dean a peck on the cheek before sitting down herself.

Dean placed two boiled eggs into Loki's bowl. The dog ate quickly and happily.

Breakfast was almost as routine and welcomed as dinner. Maybe even more so, because there was coffee and pajamas involved. Sometimes Victoria would inquire where the coffee came from and Cas would tell the story of the country of origin, about the farmer who grew it, the laborer who picked it, how and where they were roasted, and what the weather was like when the beans were shipped to the grocery store. One time there was a discrepancy in where the beans came from and where the bag said they came from so Cas always checked before beginning the story, because Victoria was none too pleased they were "false advertising" on the bag. She even called the 1-800 number on the back but realized she could not back up her information.

However, Cas soon learned they did not like to learn about the origin of the eggs.

Dean's cooking was always praised, and just as the boys did the dishes in the evening, the women did them in the morning.

Although none of them said it, this is what they all wanted in the end. Yes, the occasional hunting of monsters and killing evil bastards was part of the thrill and sometimes even enjoyable. The possibility of danger always lurked, however, no matter how skilled they all were. With each new addition the dangers intensified, making all the hunters uneasy. Aside from Jack and Castiel, they knew their bodies would weaken, wither, and eventually die. They knew their days of helping by killing monsters was numbered. So, this right here, this breakfast, coffee, conversation, this was their end game. With an ageless Cas and Jack right there with them.

While Mary and Victoria were cleaning the kitchen and Jack and Cas were training, Sam pulled Dean aside before his older brother could get the scrolls out.

"I got a name."


	45. Part 2: Chapter 20

_A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so much to all of you who have chosen to follow / favorite / review this story! It means so much as an author!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any other TV Show, Movie, Book, and/or Song referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter Warnings:_ _Parts of this chapter are rough going. There is mention of and reference to Victoria's body being used in a non-consensual manner by Lucifer while she was kidnapped. There is body shaming (not by any of the main characters). Mentions of a threesome (between Victoria, Dean, and a non-main character that never amounts to anything) and violence._

Chapter 20

No Such Luck

Dean rubbed his forehead, trailing his hand down to his eye. He wanted this to not be real, his little brother had been through so damn much. This girl was making Sammy better, and now they had to go confront a doctor to figure out just what exactly Lucifer had done to Sam's girl. Dean didn't know how many more times his brother could break. Dean knew his brother was strong, stronger than any man should ever have to be, but even steel can only take so much heat.

"What do you want to do Sammy?"

"Get the bastard."

Dean nodded. "You gonna tell Tor?"

"Yeah, I uh, I think we should."

Victoria came into the library, looking back and forth between the hunters. "What is it?" Her blood ran ice cold when she saw the look of anguish and determination in Sam's eyes, causing her arm's hair to stand on end. She subconsciously began rubbing them with her hands. "What is it Sam?"

He swallowed, giving his signature sad smile. "Agent Brooks sent me the name and address of the Doctor whose partial print was found at the warehouse."

Victoria's hands went from arms to her chest, grace scratching at the surface, trying to heal what it ascertained as a damaged heart. She steeled herself, forcing her voice to sound unaffected, "When do you wish to leave?"

"As soon as possible."

She nodded, eyes darting to the side to avoid tears. "I will pack and be ready momentarily." She attempted a small smile and nodded quickly, rushing to her room.

She sat on the bed clutching her chest. She was glad Castiel had not agreed to do a brain dive, that would have caused far too much pain, far too much scratching, she would have tried to claw the foreign grace out with her bare hands. She laid back on the bed, knowing she needed to pack but unable to move. Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, she was able to steady herself, gathering up enough strength to pack.

Cas, Mary, and Jack were waiting in the main room when Victoria came in. Sam took her bag, kissed his mom, nodded at Cas and Jack and went to the Impala. Dean was already in the driver's seat, waiting for them.

"I wish you didn't have another case so soon Aunt Victoria."

Unable to speak any words, knowing they would be a lie, Victoria pulled her nephew to her in a tight embrace. He returned the hug, confused, but comforted. She hugged Cas and Mary as well and hurried out to the Impala.

One thing the Winchesters had a profound understanding of and reverence for, was silence. Victoria laid down in the backseat, closed her eyes, and prayed for sleep to find her.

* * *

_Yellow daffodils peeked their heads out around an ancient oak, bringing with them the promise of spring - yellow that resembled freshly churned butter on the outside and a child's drawn sun on the inside. The air was cool, refreshing, a slight breeze blew the blooms lightly, causing them to greet one another. The air smelled of honey, as honeysuckle shared its signature fragrance with all those who happened by. The clouds were light, airy, free from the heaviness of rain. The world was peaceful, calm, quiet, perfect. _

_She saw him sitting on a bench, watching a man throw a ball for a pack of dogs. The man laughed heartily as the dogs returned the ball over and over, his laugh infectious, sparking joy in her chest. She went to sit by him, watching the happiness of the man throwing the ball. _

"_This is a change of scene." _

"_Yes, this is my favorite heaven." _

"_Who is he?" _

"_He was one of my charges, decades before you." _

"_Does he know you're here?" _

"_No, our presence is undetected by him." _

_She looked at her hands. "Will it be the same with me?" _

"_No. I could not bear having you so close in proximity and naïve of my existence. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but you will always be self-aware in Heaven. Having you be otherwise would be unfathomable, I would rather face the void." _

_She put her head on his shoulder. "I have to tell you something, Ezekiel." _

_He sensed this, which was why he visited in her dream. _

"_When Lucifer had me kidnapped and drugged, we think one of the reasons he did so was to have a child with me." _

_She felt her angel tense. _

_She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe. "He wanted the ultimate power combination. A Chosen One and Archangel hybrid. The Chosen One genes cover the existence of the Nephilim ones, which explains why no Angel in existence was made aware of the Nephilim being conceived." _

"_How? Did he…?" _

"_No. We think there was a doctor involved, and a surrogate, a misinformed surrogate. We are on our way to the Doctor's now. I am asleep in the back of Dean's car." _

_Ezekiel searched the perfect falsity of the sky as if hoping to find solace among the comforting illusion. "I tried to find you. I flew over the world hoping your soul would call out to my Grace, as it has on so many other occasions, but I could not locate you, and it terrified me. I had never felt so helpless throughout my existence. I am your Guardian and I could not protect you." His head bowed. _

"_It is not your job nor anyone else's to protect me." _

"_It is my job Victoria Doyle. It is what I was created to do." _

_She smiled slightly. "That man, who we are watching. You are still doing your job even now. Your creation is not owed to me. Or to anyone. Two men, and one rebellious Angel, taught me that sometimes although we are born to do something, that does not necessarily mean we have to do it." _

"_Their destiny." _

_Victoria snorted out a chuckle. "Yes." _

"_The Winchesters were never one to agree to that. Castiel either. However, I choose to protect you. To watch over you. To hear your prayers." He rested his head on top of hers. "I grew more attached to you than the others. Perhaps it was the pie." _

_Victoria laughed. "I can cook well." _

"_You do all things well Victoria Doyle." _

"_You're just partial." _

"_Yes."_

_The millennial old being felt his grace burn, white hot. His eyes held the characteristic blue glow of his kind. The woman by his side trusted him, loved him, and although every effort had been made, ensured that he would not reciprocate the sentiments, he did. He was a powerful being, perhaps the most powerful in all of heaven, and his love burned in his grace, seeking revenge. The Chosen One next to him did not sense the rage, the quiet (yet intense) yearn for justice, she only took solace in the warmth. _

_They stayed side by side on the bench in the former Chosen One's heaven until Victoria Doyle awoke from her slumber by Sam and Dean pulling off the road for gas. _

* * *

Victoria Doyle rubbed her eyes from sleep as she walked up and down the gas station aisles. She grabbed chips, Cokes, and several candy bars. She dropped it on the counter and pulled some cash out of her back jeans pocket.

The gas station attendant eyed her intently. "You know you're gonna get fat if you eat crap like this, lose your hotness."

She scratched her head and tilted her head to the side. "Excuse me?"

"You're gonna get fat." He kept ringing the stuff up.

Victoria pursed her lips, bit the inside of her cheek, ran her tongue over her teeth, and made a sucking noise due to harshly breathing in air while putting her tongue back down.

"You serious…" She looked at his name tag, "Clark?"

"Yeah, like you're hot, so, this crap is gonna mess that up. Twenty-two sixty-five."

She handed him the cash and scratched her temple. "Look Clark. You look young. So, I'm gonna help you out here, kay? You have no right to comment on my body. Only I have sovereignty over my being." Her eyes burned and she quickly looked to the ground, she looked back up, eyes cooling. "Or I should, as should any other human or any other being. You have a long road ahead of you Clark, don't spend it being a dick. If I want to eat hostess cupcakes…" She took the bag from the counter. "I will. Your saying they will alter my body shape, doesn't matter to me. But it might to someone else. And you might give that person pause to eat. Which is so not cool Clark. So, just shut up and do your job and be frickin' kind Clark. Be kind. Damn, it's not hard."

She walked out of the door, bag in hand.

"You get pie?" Dean asked.

"They only had the crappy little hand pies, but yeah, I got 'em."

Dean clicked his tongue, "That's my girl."

Victoria handed Sam a plastic wrapped dill pickle, swimming in its own juice. "This was the healthiest thing they had."

He took it gingerly. "Umm, thanks?"

"Yeah, if you don't want it, I'll eat it." She said, ripping into a bag of sour straws with her teeth. "Frickin' love pickles."

Dean and Sam looked at each other and shrugged.

"Oh, yeah, Clark in there, total dick. We're stopping back by here on the way home so I can get his mother's phone number and check up on his progress from time to time."

Sam looked in the backseat at his Chosen One, and licked his lips slightly, "You doing okay, Tor?"

"No. But, I'm trying, Sam, as you have done, Dean has done, and Castiel has done. And as my sister did. But no, I am not okay."

Sam's pained looked broke through to her soul. "I will be. With you." She smiled. "You, and your family, are more than I ever hoped to have."

"Our family." Dean corrected.

Sam snorted a laugh and grabbed his girl's hand and squeezed it before turning once more to the front.

Dean cleared his throat. "Tor, uh, no matter what, you're family. And uh,.." He trailed off, breathed in sharply, and continued. "I know I was uh, a total ass about Jack, but uh…" _Crap, why was this so frickin' hard?_ "It won't be like that for you and uh, this, this one." Dean barely made it through that. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, twisting the leather back and forth.

"Because you respect me more than my sister?" She tilted her head slightly and made eye contact in the rearview mirror.

"What? No." Dean could see how she got there. "No, Tor. Liz was frickin' impressive. She loved that kid from the get-go, even knowing how it got there. No, because…" Frickin' feelings. "Because we need you, okay?"

Victoria sighed and opened a bag of chips. "I need you too."

* * *

Victoria had called and made an appointment with Dr. Shepherd for the day after the trio started driving. Since that was a better plan of action than storming the office, they stopped at a hotel to get some sleep and just relax.

Sam said he wanted to do some research so Dean asked Victoria if she would accompany him to the hotel bar. With a grin and a smirk from Sam, she agreed. It would distract from her current situation.

"What about that one?" Dean asked, indicating a cute blonde with a group of women.

"Dean." Victoria looked at him with a face of utter disappointment. "She is with a group of women. Who I believe are celebrating a…" She narrowed her eyes, examining further. "Divorce. I mean, go ahead, I could use the entertainment."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Fine."

Victoria played with the glass rim on her bottle of Coke. She tipped the bottle back and forth, focusing on the slight 'clink'.

Her eyes roamed to a woman sitting alone at the end of the bar, looking at her phone, then around the room. She was lovely, striking even. Victoria smiled, enjoying the normalcy. The woman kept biting her lip, her body exhibiting every symptom of being ill at ease. She was anticipatory, waiting, for someone Victoria knew would never show up.

"Her." Victoria indicated with her bottle.

"She's hot."

But hot didn't describe it, not really. Yes, her body was symmetrical, pleasant, attractive, but it went deeper than that. "She's beautiful." Victoria muttered.

"Yeah." Dean scoffed.

Victoria locked eyes with him. "Her app date didn't show. She put a great deal of work into her ensemble and probably does not want to see it go to waste." Victoria examined more closely. "Cop, Detective, Agent maybe? Hum." What was it about her that drew in Victoria? "No, she's not that. But, something like that?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "I could go ask."

"Shh."

He rolled his eyes again and indicated to the bartender he wanted another beer.

She scoffed with the realization. "She's a hunter."

Dean almost spit out his beer. "What?"

"Yes. I believe her date was a monster. Literally. Will you go get her?"

Dean looked annoyed, but he didn't want that woman fighting who knows what by herself. He shrugged off the stool. "Yeah."

* * *

They got a booth, with Dean and Victoria on one side and the woman on the other.

"I didn't know there would be three of us, although…" she looked Victoria up and down and bit the side of her lip, "I don't object."

Dean swallowed hard and suddenly became very interested in his beer.

"What are you hunting?" Victoria inquired.

"A man." Cool, calm, collected, unfazed, "Or woman."

Victoria was impressed. "Your date didn't show. Which, he would have to be an idiot to not come see you, so, he must've caught on to your true purpose, a set up. You have a gun hidden in a garter, along with a knife, which I am guessing is silver."

Dean swallowed again.

The woman swirled her whiskey around the solid cube of ice. She looked down at her drink and smiled slightly.

"What are you two hunting?"

Dean cleared his throat. "We're just passing through."

Sam came down with his laptop and stared at the woman in the booth across from Tor and Dean.

"Hello?"

"Hello." It was almost breathed, low, deep, and incredibly sexy.

He seemed to take no notice as she scooted over to allow him to sit by her. He kept his laptop closed and looked anxious.

Victoria sighed. "It's fine Sam. She's a hunter."

Sam looked at her quizzically and opened his laptop. "So, get this, this town has been having multiple murders lately." He pointed to a section on his screen that showed how people were being discovered with their skulls injured and brains removed.

"Wraith." All three muttered simultaneously.

This was fine.

The new unexpected hunt didn't really interrupt anything, well, except for Dean's night.

The woman drank the rest of her drink and finally began talking. "Yes, I am hunting it as well. I have a bit of a psychic ability and I was able to distinguish it on a dating site."

"You saw through it's true nature from a profile?" Sam looked impressed.

She shrugged.

"Awesome." Dean muttered.

"I need a map."

Sam printed one off from the hotel's complimentary technology room and brought it back to the booth. Victoria put it in front of her and closed her eyes.

'_Dumb bitch thought I wouldn't catch on. Ha! Stupid hunters, only good for one thing.' He looked at his wrist and extracted his long, sharp feeding spike, licking the tip and looking down on the ground. There lay a young woman, around eighteen, round face, hazel eyes staring up at the ceiling in shock, unused silver knife in her left hand. Her skull was cracked open, cerebral fluid leaking onto the dark-stained oak floor. _

Victoria shuddered, eyes opening in shock. Thoughts were one thing, but seeing through the creature's eyes? Sam had his hand on her shoulder, eyes full of concern and surprise. For there, on the printed map, was Victoria's blood, circling the house in which the wraith resided.

The woman gasped. "That's my house."

* * *

Dean drove quickly, knowing that saving the victim's life was out of the question, but catching the wraith wasn't. The woman came with them, eyes darting left and right, trying to keep some type of emotional control.

Victoria reached for her hand, thinking some type of physical interaction might ground the woman.

"What are you?" She asked, hand quickly drawing away.

"A Chosen One."

The woman scoffed. "A what?"

"A suped-up hunter." Victoria was tired and did not care to explain the whole 'scattered around the globe' bit.

"So, you're not human?"

Victoria shrugged.

Sam turned around. "Victoria is very human, just with God-given abilities."

The woman scoffed again, "God?"

Dean muttered "Yeah" less than enthusiastically.

"What are your abilities?"

"I can detect locations on a map with my own blood apparently. Did y'all see how that happened?"

"Umm, you were getting a nosebleed, and the blood landed on the print-out and surrounded the location." Sam looked concerned, again.

"Huh." She turned her attention to the woman. "What does this thing want with you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Bull."

"Can't you just get it out of my head Chosen One?"

"I am not an Angel."

"Angel?!" The woman balked.

The trio forgot just how rare of hunters they were.

Victoria sighed with her entire body. The three of them could've gone in there, killed the wraith, called the authorities, and gone to bed, but this woman complicated things.

"There's a lot of crap in the world." Dean began. "And we've seen a lot of it."

The woman looked down at her hands. "I wasn't always a hunter. This particular wraith killed my mom. I've been able to psychically trace it ever since, but I've never been able to kill it. It never waits around for me."

God, did the Winchesters ever understand the revenge play.

"I have killed other things in my hunt for it, my psychic abilities always helping me."

"What are you going to do after you kill it?"

The woman looked to Victoria. "I don't know."

Sam and Dean looked at each other briefly, knowing where her road would probably lead.

"You have allowed your life to be ruled by one creature. Your free-will taken because of its evil. When we are done, it will be dead. And you must enact your free-will once more."

The woman scoffed. "I don't know what else to do."

"Anything." Victoria scathed. "A hunter's life is not typically a long one. You deserve a long life."

This time the woman took Victoria's hand, regret and sympathy written on her features, "Okay."

* * *

The wraith was still there, Victoria could hear it.

_I'll leave her a nice present for when she gets here_.

What the hell? Victoria nodded to Sam and Dean who pulled silver knives from the trunk.

The woman unlocked the door and went in first, gun drawn.

The wraith was standing in the middle of the living room, confetti, balloons, and streamers everywhere. "27" was written out in balloons that were rising from the dead girl's body.

"Oh hey!" He started, swaying towards the woman, seemingly completely oblivious to the other two hunters and Chosen One in the room, weapons drawn. "Didn't think you'd get here so soon. But someone was waiting on you!" He said in a sing-song voice that was sickening.

The woman dropped the knife with a 'clang' as she ran over to the body. "Max, Max, no please, please." She held the body to her, crying into her hair and busted skull. Max wasn't even supposed to be here tonight. She was supposed to stay at her dorm. She said she was staying at her dorm.

"Well, who do we have here? Hiya! Al didn't say she was bringing friends. Well anyway, I'm Tobias, nice to meet you. Hunters, I guess, and oooh, what are you?"

Sam instinctively stepped in front of Victoria as the wraith assessed her.

"Oh, she's yours huh? Okay. So glad you could make it. We are celebrating Al's twenty-seventh murder! See, she thinks it's me, but I only kill most of them for her." He put his hand on the side of his mouth as if he were whispering to the trio.

The wraith put his hands up in the air and waved them around.

Dean shot the thing, just because he was annoyed. The wraith grunted from the impact and sprung onto Dean, knocking him down. The thing touched Dean's forehead before Sam slung him off his brother. In the quick movement, he was able to touch Sam too.

Dean doubled over, clutching his head. "No, no, no, no." Screams. Heart wrenching screams that echoed right to the center of Victoria's soul. The grace busied itself around her heart, making the itch almost unbearable.

"No, not Sammy, No!" More screams. Whatever Dean was reliving in his head was bad.

Sam was not much better. He was against the wall rocking back and forth muttering almost unintelligible words although Victoria could sometimes hear her name, the name "Jess", "Azazel" and Lucifer's. She tried to shrug off the cold and face the task at hand.

The wraith was skipping around the room. "We're all by ourselves now!"

He touched the head of the woman still holding the body, making her eyes go from mourning to blank.

_Crap_.

He was on Victoria almost immediately, his hand caressing her cheek. His palm was leathery, decrepit, the skin on it loose. The feeling disgusted her. She turned away in repugnance, but the creature pinned her against the wall. His feeding tube extracted as his thoughts kept wandering to how delicious those brains would be now, all full of terror and imbalance.

Victoria shoved it away from her, forcing it to the other wall. She placed her palm on its forehead and willed it to die, although the thing did not go easily. That was no ordinary wraith. He was stronger, hence Sam and Dean. Victoria knew Sam and Dean would fight with everything they had in them, which was a hell of a lot. And while a wraith was powerful in its psychic abilities, no ordinary wraith would make either Sam or Dean unresponsive in insanity.

Something was not right about these creatures of late, there was something bigger afoot than the creatures themselves even knew, something cataclysmic.

Victoria sat down, fatigued, following the motion of the wraith's lifeless body inching down the wall as she waited for her three companions to come around.

* * *

The woman pulled the blanket around her tighter. Victoria sat next to her on the back of the ambulance.

"I'm going to give you a choice."

The woman looked at her companion quizzically.

"You can forget."

"You mean…?"

Victoria sighed, and looked at the two men who were waiting on her, leaning against the Impala. She hoped like hell they hadn't remembered their brief lapse of sanity.

"Everything. Your mother's murder, the wraith, Max, the hunting, everything."

The woman drank tea from a Styrofoam cup, her eyes brimming with tears, causing black streaks to run down her beautiful face. "And replaced with what?"

"A life outside of this, memories that are not truly yours, but could yet be. Happiness."

The woman scoffed, bobbing the tea bag up and down with the string. "I thought you weren't an angel."

"Naw, but I know a guy."

* * *

The woman looked at the card in her hand, "Victoria Doyle, Consulting Detective." With a phone number below. And below that, in blue ink. "Text if you need Anything." Why the "A" was capitalized, she could only surmise. To her knowledge she did not know a Victoria Doyle, or why on earth she would ever need a consulting detective. The beautiful woman shrugged as she put the card back into her purse.

She smiled at the woman across from her broadly. They were sitting outside a little café in Denver, Colorado, enjoying the sunshine and live music from inside the restaurant. The day was exceptional, the air pleasant. The dog between them whined for a pat. The two women smiled as they released their entwined hands to pet their dog between them. The beautiful woman gasped as she saw an engagement ring attached to the dog's collar.

She looked at the woman across from her, surprise coloring all her features.

"Ah come on Alice, you knew I was gonna ask."

In response, she pulled her girlfriend's face to hers and kissed her tenderly.

She was happy.


	46. Part 2: Chapter 21

_Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**_Thank you so, so much to all of the reviewers and those who have chosen to follow / favorite this tale! It is so very much appreciated!_**

_I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other TV Show, Movie, Book, and/or Song referenced in this tale. _

_Chapter__ Warnings:__ This chapter is a rough one. It deals with the non-consensual procedure Victoria was subjected to while being held captive by Lucifer's employees. It also deals with some of the emotional trauma from that procedure. There is also some violence and Victoria has small flashbacks to the days she was kidnapped. There are also a couple lighter scenes in this chapter as well to break up all the intensity. The next few chapters will also be a bit rough as Victoria and the rest of the family deal with the repercussions of her kidnapping; but this story has a very happy ending (I promise, I also promise there is a story arc). If there are any scenes y'all would like to see added to break up a bit of the angst I'd enjoy reading y'alls suggestions! _

Chapter 21

No Mercy

The women sitting in the waiting room eyed Dean suspiciously. He was flipping through a woman's health magazine and keeping an eye on his brother and his brother's girl. Victoria kept bobbing her leg up and down nervously, Sam put a gentle hand on her knee, hoping to quell the unease.

"This article explains why asparagus makes pee smell weird. Never something I thought I'd need to know." Dean had this face he would sometimes pull that made Victoria's heart swell. It was a face that recognized the gravity of the situation but tried to put a bit of levity into it. A type of laissez faire that said, "what the hell?" but not the "what the hell?!" they were accustomed to expressing but a nonchalant one. He made this particular face then as he pointed the article out to the woman he so readily considered his sister.

She snorted a smile and placed her hand on top of Sam's. "Because it detoxes the body."

"Smarty pants."

She flashed him a smiled of gratitude.

He leaned in close to her and whispered, "What are these women thinking?"

She furrowed her brow, "About you?"

God, how he was trying to distract her, knowing Sam was having trouble himself. "Yeah, they keep looking at me like I got two heads."

"Oh…" Victoria began, as if it were completely normal, "They think we're a thruple." She used Cas's air quotes.

"What?"

Victoria gave him a look that screamed "Seriously?"

"Oh, you mean like we're all three here to get you knocked up?"

"You can be so crass sometimes." She rolled her eyes.

Dean laughed. "So what if we were? Who are they to judge?"

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "People will always judge Dean. Remember what you called the cute kid with glasses at the bookstore?"

Dean sat back, defeated. "A wannabe hipster with a trust fund?"

Victoria nodded. "And angels?"

"Winged dick bags?"

"See? Judgmental."

Sam shook his head, amused, but not enough to be distracted.

How had he gotten here? He squeezed Victoria's knee tighter, using her body to ground himself. She instantly squeezed his hand with hers, allowing the grounding to be more effective, more real. Frickin' Lucifer, that's how he had gotten here. That bag of dicks had completely entwined himself in the life of Sam's, from before his conception. He was dead now, Sam tried to remember, killed by his own son. Sam scoffed at the irony, rubbing his hand along his jeans. The hand that held the scar that reminded him Lucifer wasn't real and only in his mind.

Dean noticed. Of course he noticed.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester?" The nurse called as she opened the door.

Dean gave them a look that shouted, "You gave your real frickin' names?!"

Tor shrugged. She and Sam walked back, giving Dean one last look before the nurse closed the door.

* * *

Victoria was visibly nervous as the nurse took all her vitals and gave her a hospital gown. The cool metal table felt familiar and gave Victoria an ache in her chest that almost immediately grew to an itch. Damn archangel grace. She rubbed at her chest, trying to avoid using her nails.

"It's all right honey, Dr. Shepherd is a wonderful doctor."

Sam froze, fist by his side in an attempt to suppress his emotion, to not show his anger in front of a seemingly innocent nurse.

"Umm, yes, I'm a bit nervous."

"Look, there isn't any shame in being here." The nurse, Tracy, Victoria noted, looked at both she and Sam. "You two look like you deserve a family, Dr. Shepherd will help you with that." She gave a reassuring smile. "He'll be in here in a minute."

With the door closing behind the nurse, Victoria let out a held-in sigh and Sam hugged her. He enveloped her in his long arms, not saying a word as their heartbeats slowed and eventually beat in rhythm. Sam stepped back.

"I'm here, Victoria Doyle."

She smiled sadly, the gesture not reaching her eyes in happiness, but in melancholy. Tears swam there as she looked at the man she so readily adored. "And I for you, Samuel Winchester."

His nostrils flared in emotion as his hazel eyes swam as well.

_Knock. Knock._ The customary knock doctors gave to alert their patients they were coming in. A farce in privacy.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, I am…"

He stopped when he saw Victoria. Her face seared into his brain. The woman laying unconscious on the examining table in that God-forsaken warehouse in the middle of nowhere with bruises in places no one should be bruised while he extracted what he needed to in order to satiate that red-eyed monster. Did he want to? Of course not. Was "do no harm" on a loop inside his head as he took sterilized metal tools and did his job? Yes. But the red-eyed monster promised him so much and didn't even require his soul. He said he would be given an important job in the New World Order and he could taste the frickin' power. Was he proud? Hell no. But would he do it again for the promise, the idea of being a powerful being? Hell yeah.

But this wasn't right. He had done his job, informed the red-eyed monster of the progress, and she shouldn't be here. She should be with him. Not this man. Was this man him? He studied. No. This man was not him. What the hell? The doctor attempted to cover; pretend he knew nothing. Maybe this was just a coincidence.

"So the chart says you two are having trouble…"

He was cut off as a Warrior of God descended upon him, blue eyes blazing, grace palpitating with red rage, swirling throughout his vessel strongly enough that it was almost visible to the human eye.

Victoria gasped, drew back from the table and wrapped her gown around her tightly.

Sam was not expecting Ezekiel, but he quickly locked the door, not wanting anyone else to pop in while the Angel enacted his own particular form of justice.

"What the…"

"Silence!" Ezekiel said, not loudly, but with the force of such blatant righteousness, such will that the doctor cowed, scared, fearing the Angel of the Lord.

Ezekiel placed his palm forcefully on the man's forehead, eyes glowing. The doctor's eyes shook, vibrating while the angel searched and consumed his mind.

"_How'd you get in here?" The doctor pushed his glasses up on his nose, perplexed. His office had been closed for hours and he was just finishing up some paperwork. He and his wife had a dinner with some board of directors, trying to woo him away from his private practice to their prestigious research hospital. _

_Lucifer took one of the doctor's instruments off his desk and twirled it around on his finger. "Well doc, I'm not exactly human." He flashed red eyes at the man, winked, and blew a kiss. _

"_What the…" _

"_Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Language Doc." Lucifer put the instrument back on the desk, reached over, grabbed the doctor by his tie and plopped him back in his chair. "Here's the dealsies, I did my research…" Lucifer fondly thought of his true vessel at the word, a far off look in his eye. "And found out, you're the best of the best. And I need that. You see, I need a child." _

_Lucifer furrowed his brow. He had a kid. A damn powerful kid. But those pesky Winchesters and his little annoying as all get out brother already had the kid under their wing. Haha, wing. So, the kid was obviously going to be 'good'. Lucifer shuddered. So, he needed a new kid. A freakin' powerful kid, to combat what was coming. And he needed a powerful being to have the kid with. And he knew just the girl. But she was 'good' too. Blah blah blah. So, he, being the literal Devil, master of temptation, creator of Evil, had a brilliant plan. Enact some ancient magic and make her evil. Simple plan. He also knew how to make her immortal. So, have an evil (and hot) Chosen One as his bride and mother of his child and rule the freakin' galaxy. Father, he was brilliant. _

_The doctor looked at him, eyes narrowed, brow furrowed. "Umm… okay?" _

_Lucifer rolled his eyes and sat on the desk. "Look, Doc, you're gonna have to do all the work. The intended mother is not really a willing participant." _

_Dr. Shepherd straightened, his soul burning behind his chest, willing him to just die, wanting him to be good. But the soul had a part to it, a part Dr. Shepherd tried to suppress, a part that didn't mind the woman wasn't consenting. A part that wanted to actually help this red-eyed monster. A part that wanted to be a fragment of the power. "Uh, okay?" He consented. His soul dimmed, the brightness overtaken by the slice that wanted the evil power. His brain tried to tell him he consented for self-preservation, but his soul, as they often do, knew better. _

_Lucifer smirked. "That's the ticket. Aren't you going to ask what you get out of all this?" _

_Dr. Shepherd shrugged. "My life?" _

_Lucifer seemed disappointed, his face scrunching. "That's all? Like, do you even know what I am?" _

_Dr. Shepherd shrugged. "A demon?" _

_Lucifer put his hand on his chest, feigning insult. "The father of demons, doc. So, what you want?" _

"_A part?" _

_Lucifer clicked his tongue. "Gotcha. So, what you thinking? Page, messenger, footstool?" _

_The unethical doctor's eyebrows knitted together. "No, power." _

_Lucifer sighed, "Right. Okie doke. So, when me and my wife and my kid get the whole thing started. You'll be in there." _

_The Doctor smiled. "Immortality?" _

_Lucifer scrunched up half of his face. "Duh?" _

_Dr. Shepherd bit the inside of his cheek. "Deal." _

_There was a flash in the tide of memories, Ezekiel followed the road to the next memory of Victoria. _

_She was laying on the metal table, arms draping off the side, blood dripping down her arm, bruises apparent, everywhere. Her shirt and pants were torn, almost gone. The doctor took his tools and started towards her._

_Ezekiel could watch no longer. His grace went from rage to fury, as it burned white hot. He was no longer in control, the emotions running through his grace overtaking any rational thought. _

_Flash. _

_The doctor's kids at Christmas opening up presents. _

_Flash. _

_A woman learning she is pregnant after trying to have a baby for years. _

_Flash. _

_Dr. Shepherd drinking wine with his wife on their back porch overlooking a lake. _

_Flash. _

_The doctor's tools laying on a sterilized metal table in an empty warehouse. _

_Flash. _

_A freezer the doctor put a petri dish in. _

_Flash. _

_Graduation from medical school. _

_Flash. _

_The doctor sharing a whisky with Lucifer after their plan was successful. _

_Flash. _

_Stephanie Hutchinson. The woman carrying Victoria's child. _

Ezekiel released the doctor, whose eyes rolled up into his head, drool escaping from his mouth, as he slowly slipped down the wall and became a crumpled heap of flesh, still very much human, but brain dead, clipboard still in hand.

Victoria looked to her Guardian, her breath caught.

He glanced at her quickly before flying away, only to return almost instantaneously, a manila folder in hand. He handed the folder to Sam and turned to his charge.

"Victoria."

She understood why he did it. But that, what he did to Dr. Shepherd, was not Ezekiel. Not the angel who hid any emotions so well that Victoria almost believed he did not have any. An angel who regarded her with patience and kindness and comradery, but never gave her the belief he would harm another human for her. Humans were his job, what he was told to watch over and love. And Victoria Doyle just watched him fry a man's brain for her. What that was, what she witnessed, was love. A love strong enough for him to overcome his teachings, his beliefs, everything he was ever exposed to, for her. She was shocked. Was his love misguided, was it wrong? She couldn't judge. She fried a demon's brain for Sam. Was this any different just because he was human? His soul was tainted, it had to have been. Right? Her hospital gown left her feeling exposed, vulnerable. She clutched it around her tightly.

Was she scared of him? Did he act out of rational thought? No, he did not. He needed her to understand. "Please?"

Was he begging? Was her angel lowering himself to her? She steeled herself, gown clutched. She walked over to him and put her head on his shoulder. Arms still clutched to the gown. The moment was emotionally charged, the air almost palpitating with his scorching grace. Her touch soothed it, and the Angel felt it cooling. The grace that resided so often in her chest reached out to him, calming him, fortifying him, making him once more the Angel Victoria was most accustomed to. Not an Angel of Vengeance.

"Your soul called out to me. And I came."

She let go of the gown and wrapped her arms around him. "I was scared."

He winced. "I know. I am so sorry."

Sam didn't want to interrupt their moment, so he began to read the file on Stephanie Hutchinson. She was a single woman who taught at a local elementary school. Second grade. Sam smiled slightly. The procedure that 'took' was preformed four months ago, and according to the chart, everything was going according to plan. Weird, Sam thought, normally Nephilim's grow at a rate much faster than human babies. Was this the Chosen One genes interfering? Was that even a thing? Sam shook his head. They were going to have to visit Stephanie Hutchinson and come up with a plan quick. Because Mr. and Mrs. Nick Smith sure as hell wasn't gonna cut it.

Victoria pulled away and looked at what resided of the man on the floor. "We were right?"

Ezekiel lowered his head. "Sam has all the information you need to find her."

Victoria swallowed, tears welling in her eyes. She nodded and looked at her Guardian, the angel who so often steadied her swirling thoughts when she was a young Chosen One, unsure of everything. "I don't know what to do."

He lifted his own head and hers with a gentle hand to her chin. "You will." He paused, his eyes never leaving hers, "I love you, Victoria."

Sam's eyes shot straight up, watching the exchange between the Angel and his charge.

Victoria closed her eyes, wishing he hadn't said it. But he did, and it was there, and for an Angel who fought against choosing the one over the many again and again, those words meant everything. She put a hand on his chest, allowing herself to feel his grace. It flowed evenly now, calm, serene, like an ocean's waves on the sand with the moon watching the two kiss and break away, over and over. She opened her eyes and looked into his, forcing herself to look beyond the vessel at the angel within. Beauty and strength abounded. "And I you."

With a bow of his head, indicating relief, and happiness, he flew away.

Victoria clutched her chest, Sam was at her side immediately.

"Yell into the hallway that the doctor collapsed."

Sam kissed her head and did just that.

* * *

Sam, Dean, and Victoria were sitting at a diner. Sam was gingerly picking at his salad while Victoria and Dean dug into their double bacon cheeseburgers.

"So, what, Zeke Spocked the Doc?" Dean inquired as he bit into his burger.

"It went a little beyond that."

Dean raised a quizzical eyebrow.

Sam explained Victoria's statement, "The guy was laying on the floor drooling, Dean."

"Huh." Dean accepted that with a nod of his head and continued eating. His mouth full, he elaborated, "I'm not gonna feel sorry for the son of a bitch."

Victoria could also accept that. She didn't feel particularly sorry for him either.

Sam tapped the file that was on the table with his free hand. "What are we gonna do about this?"

Victoria sighed, "I think Agent Brooks can help us, again."

Sam furrowed his brow.

Victoria pursed her lips and played with a fry, ripping it apart. "She can make us a marriage certificate, a death certificate, and whatever ID I need to get the child." She felt a lump in her throat and she suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore.

Sam tried to do the sad smile. He tried. But his girl sounded broken. And that hurt.

Dean winced, the pain on both of their faces gnawing at his chest. "Look, this ain't easy. Hell, not one of us has had an easy life. They've pretty much all sucked. But this kid, it ain't his kid Tor, all right? Just like Jack isn't. Whatever it is, it's yours. And that makes it ours. All of ours." Dean continued eating.

Sam looked at his brother with pride, hope, and love. Dean had suffered atrocities no man should even begin to fathom. And here he was, comforting Sam and Tor. Just like he always did, because he was the big brother. And he was damn good at it.

"You gonna eat that?" Dean motioned at Tor's burger. She pushed it his way. "Hell yeah."

* * *

Agent Brooks was having the paperwork sent via a courier to the trio as soon as she was able. Victoria knew she owed that woman a hell of a lot.

Dean didn't want to leave Sam and Tor alone for fear of both of them retreating so far into their own minds he'd have to use Angelic force to get them back. He didn't want to do that. He knew his little brother was stronger than he had any right to be and his brother's girlfriend was probably the toughest woman on earth. Regardless, he knew how easy it was to break. To disassociate, to push everything so far down that its climb back up is inevitable, like bad seafood. He was a pusher, he knew it, and sometimes it erupted in him being a dick. But with those two? They wouldn't lash out, they wouldn't hurt anyone else, they wouldn't do what he and Ezekiel do. They would care for one another while they died inside. And Dean Winchester was not gonna let that happen. So, he swallowed his incredibly handsome manly pride and engaged in chick-flick moments worthy of Lifetime.

"What are we watching tonight?" He asked flipping through the stations.

Sam looked confused as he scrolled on his iPad. "You're not going out?"

Dean scoffed. "And leave your company? Please."

Victoria knew what he was doing and loved him for it. She smiled slightly as she looked over at Sam's iPad. Her heart froze. That big, beautiful human was looking at cribs. The grace fluttered around her heart, scratching at the wall of her chest. Damn, she was an emotional disaster these days. That grace was busy, always fluttering, trying to calm, to steady, but it was foreign, and confused inside the body of a human who exhibited more emotions that it was ever intended to quell. She rubbed her chest and looked at the eldest Winchester.

"You are going to be an amazing uncle, Dean Winchester." The words slipped out, surprising her. But damn, she meant it.

Dean sniffed and blinked, trying to get rid of the saltwater pooling in his green eyes. He knew he agreed to chick-flick, but damn, he was not expecting that. "Damn straight." He finally managed to choke out, in a voice that only retained the tiniest bit of emotion. "The kid's first beer belongs to me."

Victoria smiled and took Sam's free hand laying on the bed next to her. "Oh, that is definitely going to be your privilege."

Victoria leaned into Sam and scrolled with him. Imagining her child laying in a crib next to the bed she and Sam shared terrified her. Would the man next to her allow himself to be called "Dad", even knowing the child was not his true seed? Would he be able to love them fully, knowing the child was the spawn of Lucifer? She worried; she was scared. She loved Sam, more than she ever thought possible. And after spending time in a parallel universe, she knew Sam Winchester was the only man she would ever allow to father her children. But this was done against her will, her choice taken from her. Could she ask the man beside her to share in that?

Sam Winchester felt the woman he cared so much for settle into him, her presence filling his senses, calming him, steadying him, allowing him to actually look at the furniture he was searching for. Watching Ezekiel essentially melt that doctor's brain made Sam wonder if he would have done the same. He knew he did something very similar when he injected a lethal amount of a drug into her surviving kidnapper's arm. She seemed to forgive Ezekiel easily enough. Could she forgive him? Would she believe he wanted to raise this child with her as if it were his own? Because he did. He didn't care who the biological father was, he was going to be that kid's dad. And a damn good one. He didn't care if he was a human raising a Chosen One / Archangel Hybrid. He wanted a life with her, he wanted this child with her, and he wanted to let her know that.

* * *

Stephanie Hutchinson was not expecting visitors that morning. Her little "bun" as she affectionately called it was making her tired. She drank her decaf coffee hoping for the placebo effect as she looked over her notes for her thesis. Why she thought it was a good idea to get a Masters' degree while teaching a bunch of cute seven-year-olds she would never know. The committee was meeting tomorrow, and she had to give the verbal pitch. Blowing air through her mouth she began to organize the notes, hoping for some cohesiveness to take form.

The knock on her apartment door surprised her, but sometimes her friends would stop by unannounced bemoaning their latest relationship trouble. Stephanie would listen with an open ear, offering advice she knew they wouldn't take. She opened the door, holding her bump ever so slightly. Stephanie was not afraid to answer the door, because she never had anything to be afraid of. She smiled at the two rather large men and the one rather tall female in between them. "Can I help you?"

The pain in the woman's eyes when she looked at her slightly swollen stomach hit Stephanie like a ton of bricks. She inhaled sharply and her quick mind quickly began connecting the dots. "You're her? Mrs. Smith?"

Victoria swallowed and nodded. Stephanie opened the door and allowed the trio entrance. They all sat awkwardly on the couch, knees touching, as Stephanie sat in one of the chairs across. Stephanie decidedly noticed the absence of Mr. Smith, a man she met on several occasions and noted as charming. Was he too charming? Her hand went to her stomach on instinct.

Sam leaned forward and began to speak. "Hey, umm, I'm Sam, this is Victoria, and this is my brother Dean. Can we talk to you about your procedure?"

Stephanie was confused. "You mean, the baby?"

Victoria closed her eyes and nodded. "Please. Umm, Nick…" God this was hard. "Umm, left me out of a lot."

Stephanie nodded in compassion, "I know, because of the first few times."

The lump in Victoria's throat grew, anger threatening to overcome all over emotions. What sort of sick twisted play did that son of a bitch throw to this sweet girl? Sam felt the tension and grabbed her hand and rested it on his lap. Stephanie noticed.

Dean kept quiet. He was afraid he would erupt and this poor girl would be scared out of her mind for carrying the Devil's spawn.

Victoria began to spin the biggest yarn she had ever spun. The lie comforted her, warmed her, made her feel strong. This lie had power.

"Nick is dead."

She registered Stephanie's shock, the pity, the concern, the worry, and continued.

"He was an abusive husband. Always blaming me for the inability to" Victoria huffed sardonically and looked at the ceiling, "Conceive an heir. He more of less bullied me into seeing Dr. Shepherd. I consented, because that what I thought I should do, to please him."

Dean looked at his brother's girl, eyes wide in shock, and truth be told, he was a bit impressed. Dean was a damn good liar too.

Sam held her hand tighter, because even though the story was fabricated, the feelings were not.

"I didn't know what he was doing exactly. But it looks like his plan came to fruition."

Stephanie held onto her stomach tighter.

"Umm, Nick had a heart attack a few weeks ago, and I only found out from Dr. Shepherd yesterday that you were carrying our child." Victoria paused, pursed her lips, and once more looked up at the ceiling. "And then, he had a stroke while we were in the room with him. When he learned what Nick was up to."

Stephanie looked shocked. No one could blame the poor woman.

"Sam and I met in college." Okay, she was using the parallel time set up, so sue her. "In a grief support group. We clicked, but the timing wasn't right. Nick came in, all charm, and woo, and swept me off my feet. We were married. Then he became abusive, hurt me." She all but melted into Sam.

"Sam saw that Nick had died and came to check on me. It was the right time this time. Please don't judge us Stephanie. We love each other, pretty much always have. And we want our baby."

Stephanie reached across the table and put her hand on Victoria's knee. "I am so sorry you went through all of that, Victoria. And of course I want you to have your baby and raise it with the love of your life." Her smile was perfect. Victoria wanted her to have the best possible life.

"I'd like to get to know the two of you better, if you can. We're about four months in. Everything looks great. We're past the first trimester and pretty much in the clear." There was that smile again. "I will keep you updated, of course."

"Thank you."


	47. Part 2: Chapter 22

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Thank you so, so much to all the wonderful readers ho have chosen to review / favorite / follow this tale! It means so much as the author of this story!**

I do not own Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any other movie, TV show, book, and/or song referenced in this tale.

Chapter Warnings: Victoria is dealing with the after-effects of Lucifer's non-consensual use of her body while she was kidnapped. Some angst as well.

Chapter 22

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Dean made eye contact with his backseat passenger. "You still want to stop back by that gas station on the way home Tor?"

Victoria furrowed her brow. Clark was a dick, but she was probably going to be too busy to check up on his moral progress. "I don't think so, thanks anyway."

Dean nodded.

Victoria took a sip of her coffee and looked back into the rearview mirror. "What are we going to tell Jack?" She shifted uneasily in her seat. The thought had been plaguing her ever since they confirmed their suspicions. The boy was sensitive, kind, and Victoria knew that telling him the truth, however sugar-coated they made it, could mentally harm him. He was young, and not emotionally ready for news of this caliber yet. God, Victoria hated the _yet_.

Dean cleared his throat and shared a knowing glance with Sam. "I uh, talked to Cas about that, and uh, he thinks we should just tell the kid its yours and Sam's." Dean hated having this conversation, even having to think about this conversation. Did he want his little brother to have a nice normal life? Hell yeah. Sammy deserved kids, a wife, the whole frickin' shebang. Was it supposed to happen like this? Where a baby was more or less forced onto him by the Being responsible for royally screwing up their lives? Hell no. Did they have a choice? Also, Hell no. So, here it was, a baby staring them in the face in five short months. A kid none of them were prepared for, a kid that could potentially emotionally damage any one of them. Hell, probably even physically damage. But it was Tor's, and that made it family. And truth be told, Dean liked kids, he was good with them. And he would make a hell of an uncle.

Sam looked down at his hands. Why was Dean better at this stuff now? He knew that Dean had comforted Tor more in the last little bit than he had. And Dean had comforted him too. Dean was truly the Righteous Man. Sam snorted at the reference, knowing Dean would totally punch him for it.

"Okay." Victoria agreed, sipping more of her coffee. It made sense, and it wasn't all that far from the truth. Not really.

* * *

They brought home pizza. Jack and Mary made salad. They sat around the table laughing, eating, and drinking. They all cherished moments like this. True family moments four of them never planned on having.

Victoria never thought she would see an Angel of the Lord having a beer. She inwardly laughed at the scene, causing her nose to crinkle in a way that made Sam smile.

"What did you kill?" Jack asked, in between bits of pepperoni. He gave Loki the crust.

"A wraith." They answered simultaneously.

Mary winced. She did not like those guys.

"Not a typical one either." Victoria mused. "He was, enhanced."

The mood sobered.

"How so?" Castiel inquired, suddenly all business.

"He was stronger with his psychic abilities. Quicker. And he took quite a bit of strength to smite. But not quite as much as the tribrid."

Dean sat back in his chair and took a swig of his beer. Fingers wrapped expertly around the neck. "Are they upping the game cause we are?" He gave a nod of his head towards Jack.

Sam's eyebrows knitted together. "Like the universe balancing itself?"

"Yeah Sammy, like that." Dean rolled his eyes and took another draw.

"If Time or Balance is omniscient, then possibly?" Victoria mused.

They all looked to Cas.

"They are omniscient, yes. However, not psychic. And since we have been encountering the obscure since before power was tipped in our favor, I would say that while that theory has validity, it is not entirely correct."

Dean smirked. Nerdy little angel.

Sam's brow furrowed, beer bottle in between his palms. "So, we may be looking at another Big Bad?"

* * *

_The bunker was surprisingly well-lit, did they install a sky light? Not that the bunker had a view of the sky with which to be lit. Victoria shrugged. She threw off the covers, carefully removed Sam's arms from around her waist, and went to go check on her child, whose yearning awoke her. _

_The crib was airy, the gauze and netting surrounding it creating a look of delicacy. The child appeared to be lit from within, bright blue eyes gazing up at her mother. Victoria reached down and picked her baby up, her entire body being warmed from the touch. The child always warmed her like that, as if she were her mother's external peace. Victoria held the child to her, the baby's face nestled into her shoulder. Victoria rested her head slightly on her child's, inhaling the sweet, powdery scent of her hair. Her head was soft on Victoria's cheek. The child's mother rubbed small circles onto her back, providing comfort and alleviating the yearning. _

_Victoria felt Sam's arms wrap around her waist from behind. Her heart and the grace around it fluttered around the life-giving organ as she felt his breath in her hair, his lips about to kiss the top of her head. He then kissed their baby's. _

"_Good morning beautiful ladies." _

"_Good morning." Victoria muttered back, happily, dreamily, fully engaged in the bliss that was this moment. _

_Victoria felt Sam shift from the side her daughter was resting to her slightly exposed neck. He began kissing it softly, and then not so softly, and then harshly, hungrily. Victoria attempted to move away discreetly in order to clue him in on her discomfort. He had never made her uncomfortable, and she was sure he didn't know he was doing it now; he would never do that to her. _

_Sam's ever tightening grip around her waist held her in place. Victoria started to panic, the grace that only seconds ago relished in his touch now constricting her heart in an attempt to slow the panic. His grip should not be this tight, she should be able to escape it easily. Her neck was beginning to hurt and she could feel the bruises began to form beneath her skin. Some of the grace began to make its way from her heart to the spot right above her clavicle. _

_Her breathing became faster and Sam took that as a sign she didn't give. His hand began to move down from her waist. Tears began to form in her eyes. She held her child to her more tightly and with all of her strength, which was a considerable force, she twisted away from his hold, child still safe and secure in her arms. _

_Hazel eyes looked at her in confusion. Each step she took toward the door he took toward her. "What's wrong, Tor?" There was pain in his eyes, rejection, but something else, something old._

_Did he not know? Was he really clueless? Did he think this was okay now? Victoria only doubted for a moment. No, this wasn't how Sam normally acted. The door was close, wasn't it? She let go of her child's back in order to feel for the door handle. Where was it? _

"_Tor, what's going on, just talk to me." The pain was still there, but the something older grew more, what was that look? Dangerous? _

"_Umm…" Where was that friggin' door handle? "I thought you knew that I…" _

"_That you what, baby? Didn't want me to touch you?" Yes, that look was definitely danger. _

"_No, that I wasn't…" She kept grasping at air. She gave up and returned her hand to her child. _

_Sam smirked, an evil smirk that revealed the upper right portion of his teeth. "Aww, come on baby, don't be like this." He shoved her up against a wall Victoria was pretty sure a second ago didn't exist. "How do you think we got her?" _

_Victoria looked into eyes that suddenly turned red. She steeled herself against the wall. No no no. He was dead, this wasn't real. She closed her eyes, hoping to wake up. She opened back up to a Sam with a sarcastic smile. _

"_Yeah, thought you'd be more comfortable and willing in the bunker. But, whatever." With a spread of his hands the room she shared with Sam turned into an office? It sure looked like an office. With a throne, a smaller throne by it on the right side and an ornate cradle on the left of it. _

_Angels' bodies were strewn around, angel blades in hand, futile in their fight against the Devil. Victoria gasped as she recognized Ezekiel, eyes burned out. Lucifer smirked at her realization; he felt her horror and reveled in it. "He put up a real fight for you, that one." She felt her stomach flip, the grace swirling around her organs, unsure of where it was most needed._

_Victoria looked at the man who was still pinning her to the wall. "Welcome to Heaven wifey." _

_He dragged his finger down her cheek, making her wince. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of this. Thought my true vessel would make you all hot and ready, but I guess I overestimated that relationship. No worries, we'll get it right back on track." _

_He kissed her roughly, making the tears brimming in her eyes escape. When he drew back, he licked his lips. "That'll get better too." _

_What was that she tasted? It was metallic like blood, but also sulfuric? She looked at him in revulsion. He swaggered over to his throne and sat down, patting the seat beside him. He took a chalice that was on the arm of the chair and took a long drink. _

"_What?" He asked, head tipping, "Do you not like the taste of demon blood?" _

Victoria woke up profusely sweating. She looked over at Jack. _Please don't be having the same dream_. She kept repeating to herself as she laid her shaking hand on his forehead. She smiled faintly as she realized he was dreaming of playing fetch at the park with Loki.

Victoria's foreign grace was itching furiously, trying to make calm out of chaos. She removed Sam's arm and went into the bathroom. Without removing her clothes, she got in a warm running shower and sat in the bottom, hoping no one could hear her sobs.

* * *

"I don't know how long she's been in there, Dean, all right? But it's been since I've been up at least, and Jack said she was in there when he got up two hours ago."

"You knocked man, she said she was okay."

Sam pulled his lower lip inside of his mouth,

Dean knew that look. "Look Sammy, she's gonna act 'off' or whatever. But she's strong, she'll get better."

Sam sat down, morning coffee in hand. Dean sat across from him. Sam tried to nod and provide a sad smile that meant he'd shove everything down and hope for the best.

"She, uh, won't talk to me Dean."

"She doesn't want to hurt you Sam."

Sam snorted. "How much longer are we going to do this to each other, huh? You, me, Cas? All we do is shove crap so far down that we end up…" He shook his head.

Dean pursed his lips and sighed. "Look, man, you and me, we agreed no more lies, after that whole uh" Dean hated saying his name, the guilt he so long internalized over Kevin, over Sam rising to the top, "Gadreel mess."

"But not lying doesn't mean opening up, Dean. And the reason we don't open up? Because we don't want the other one to feel guilty. We took a literal Angel and taught him that way of thinking within a few years." Sam laughed sardonically. "Tor only took half that."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "She was like that before man, I think that's why we all clicked."

"Do you know how messed up that is?" Sam was practically yelling.

"What other kind of person would work with us Sammy, huh? Some chick that spouts off her feelings every two minutes?"

"Wouldn't hurt Dean."

"Well, you're stuck with me, I'm afraid." Victoria walked in, not looking at Sam but trying not to make it obvious she wasn't looking at Sam. She got out her favorite mug Jack picked out at one the gas stations they stopped at a few weeks back that said: "World's Best Aunt." She frickin' loved it.

"I had a nightmare Sam." Victoria confessed, never looking away from the coffee she was pouring into her cup. She heard his chair scoot across the floor and went to sit by Dean before he could come over to her. She couldn't bear to feel his arms encircle her from behind right now.

She held the cup tightly, trying to get the warm coffee to ground her as the shower had done. Until the water turned cold. Apparently even hot water heated by magic runs out.

Sam studied her face and noticed the red rimmed eyes and dark shadows.

"How much sleep did you get, Tor?"

She flinched at his voice, his freakin' voice. "A couple hours? I'm not sure." She never took her eyes off her coffee.

"Tor?" The plea was gentle, kind, pure, and full of that damn pain.

She made herself look at him. "It was just a dream, Sam. I'll be fine." She forced what she knew was the most pathetic excuse for a smile.

* * *

"I thought you said, and I quote that you 'would snap like a twig'."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure I could take you in the shape you're in right now."

Tor rolled her neck, loosening up the muscles. "Nightmares come with the job, you know that."

She threw a right hook that Dean stepped out of the way for. He gave her a smug grin and raised an eyebrow at her. "Chosen One?"

Dean attempted to punch her with a left cross, which she easily blocked with her forearm. He tried to pretend like it didn't sting. She healed him instantly. He rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah, but the job doesn't usually involve creepy doctors, Lucifer, and a kid."

Victoria kicked his legs out from under him, knocking his breath out of him. She offered him her hand. He took it and got up with as much dignity as he could muster. Without releasing his hand, she looked into his eyes, "I dreamed Sam was Lucifer."

"Oh, crap."

He used her hand to pull her over his body and landed her on the mat. She looked up at him. "Cheating."

"Opportunity." He winked.

She sprung up and rolled her neck again. "It wasn't pleasant." Her eyes scanned the floor.

His eyes narrowed. She once more looked up. "You can probably assume."

"Tor, it was just a dream. You know Sam."

"I know that. But what he said."

"Dream Devil? He's a bastard." He said that with such utter conviction Victoria was a bit taken aback.

He managed to land a punch across her jaw because of her distraction. She looked annoyed.

He winced. "Sorry."

"I'm not healing your knuckles this time."

"Fair enough. They just kind of sting anyway."

"What do you mean, Dream Devil?"

"He's a dick."

Victoria threw a series of punches, all of which Dean was able to block.

"Impressive, mortal."

Dean shrugged. "I'm kind of a big deal."

Victoria laughed.

"It was just a dream. A hell of a bad one. But you're safe." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Eww, you're all sweaty."

He responded by rubbing his face on the shoulder of her t-shirt.

She laughed and gently pushed him off.

* * *

Victoria took Sam's hand, surprising him. She sat on the table he had a book sprawled out on. "Wanna come with me?" She attempted coy but was sure she was off the mark; one thing Victoria Doyle was not was coy. His face was surprised, and she knew part of that was her doing, she had been avoiding him all day. She forced herself to look him in his eyes and focused on the danger that was missing from them.

His stomach turned, scared. He knew something was off since breakfast, and he didn't want to have 'a talk'. Even though she confessed her affection in many ways, he was still so unsure of it. As Dean had said, she fit in with their family, complete with not only emotional baggage but a stowaway compartment.

"Yeah, I'll just go get my jacket."

"Okay, I'll be waiting in the Stang."

Sam looked confused as he went to get his jacket that he didn't really need because the night was warm, but habits were hard to break. Dean stopped him. "What's wrong Sammy?"

"Tor wants me to go somewhere with her."

"And?" The tone was so sarcastic that Sam immediately pulled a face that said, 'Shut up Dean'.

"She hasn't looked at me all day and now wants to go somewhere."

"Pretty sure she's not gonna offer you up for some type of sacrifice, Sammy."

And there was the face again.

Dean chuckled and patted him on the back.

* * *

Sam looked at his girl as she parked the car at the park. "Are we going for a run?"

"Oh, God no."

Sam snickered.

She got out of the car and opened the truck. "We, Sam Winchester, are having a late-night picnic." She took a basket out of the trunk and started walking toward a clearing. Sam helped her lay out the blanket.

He laid down with his arm under his head, looking up at the stars. Victoria laid her head on his chest, looking up into the sky as well.

The night was clear, opening the view for the multitudes of stars. The near full moon lit the sky almost as if it were a drunken day. The frogs were loud, calling for a mate. Their croaks filling the still silence. Every once in a while, a grasshopper would chime in, adding to the music of the night. The air smelled clean, not with the crispness of a cool night, but with the warm mustiness that heralded summer. The clover offered a light fragrance, adding to the sweetness of the dark.

"Do you know the names of them?"

Sam put his free arm across Victoria's stomach. She held it tighter to her with her own arms, gripping his flesh lightly. While this was a gesture on her part to indicate to Sam his touch was welcomed, it also allowed her control. Control she knew she didn't need with Sam but control she did need after that dream.

Victoria drifted to sleep listening to Sam name the stars, the constellations, and the origins of their names. She loved his brilliance.

"_There you are. Thought you ran away from me again." _

_She was still clutching the baby to her side. She took comfort in its steady breathing. _

"_This is a dream." _

_Lucifer in Sam's body smiled. "Wouldn't that be something if it were true? Do you really think, Victoria Morningstar, that you would dream this?" He motioned around him, to the Angels on the floor around them, to her Guardian. "Doesn't it make much more sense that the world out there, with 'good' Sam and Dean and Cas…" He rolled his eyes, "Is your dream?" _

"_This is a nightmare. I used incorrect phrasing." She felt the child's warmth, steadying her courage. _

_He leaned forward in his throne. "Where were you in your head just now? Hum? With Sam, in some field?" He scoffed. "And this is the dream?" _

"_Sam would never say yes to you." _

"_Wouldn't he?" He licked his lips and swirled the chalice in his hand. "What if I promised to never press you too hard? If I agreed, if he stayed silent back here…" He motioned to his head, "to not force myself upon you completely? What do you think Sammy would do then?" _

_Victoria braced herself against the wall. _

"_No. This is a dream." _

_Lucifer rolled Sam's eyes. "You'll outgrow that. And I suspect your 'otherworld' dreaming will be outgrown as well. We'll just have to wait. And baby, we have forever." _

Victoria awoke with a gasp, hand clutched to her burning chest. She pushed Sam's arm away with her other. How did that feel so frickin' real? She turned onto her hands and knees to try and breathe.

Sam was rubbing circles on her back. She looked at him wildly. "How long was I out?"

"Thirty minutes? I dropped off too."

"Tor, what is it? What are these dreams?"

"Why?" She sat back down.

"Because sometimes," he attempted to tuck her hair behind her ear, and she shied away, almost violently. Sam sat back as well. "It helps us separate them from reality."

"Why'd you say it like that?"

Sam's eyebrows knitted, "I just mean that sometimes talking about them helps us realize they aren't real."

"They're always real Sam." She said that to deflect, to use the excuse of past cases, but in reality? Victoria Doyle was drowning. That baby's breath, its warmth felt just a real as Sam's arm around her only minutes before.

Sam nodded. "We can't save everyone Tor, but we do save a lot."

God. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt this Sam. She calmed herself, placating the overacting grace.

"We do." She nodded. "I'm so sorry I've been on edge all day."

He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, "Is this okay?" she nodded.

She turned around and wrapped herself completely in him. She closed her eyes and breathed in. She noted every scent on him, the scent of him. She committed to memory the musk, the laundry detergent and dryer sheets Dean insisted on, the faint smell of cologne, hair product, and slight fresh sweat from the warm night. She didn't need the control this time, if this was a dream she never wanted to wake up.

"Do you want to head home?" She could hear the tiredness in his voice.

"No." She barely whispered.

He chuckled, his breath tickling her ear, making the hair on her arms move.

"Okay."

They laid back down, but this time she didn't go to sleep. She focused on him, noting every feature, trying to distinguish Sam from the monster in her dreams. At least, she thought it was a dream.


	48. Part 2: Chapter 23

_Thank you so, so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**Thank you so much for the favorites / follows / reviews! They mean so much as the author of this tale!**_

_I do not own Supernatural, or any other TV Shows, Movies, Books, and/or Songs referenced in this story. _

_Chapter Warnings: _ Okay, this is a rough one. Victoria is once more dreaming about Lucifer. There are also mentions of self-harm; this is in order to try and remove the grace. Panic attacks are mentioned in this chapter as well as the discussion of Victoria's violation while kidnapped.

Chapter 23

Reality

Victoria Doyle sat reading about the various monsters that began with a "C" with a coffee pot beside her and a pack of gummy worms next to her notes. How were there so many monsters? Victoria noted that even with her Chosen One powers, archangel grace, and coffee, pulling all-nighters was not the same as when she was in college. She couldn't focus and was pretty sure she'd read about the Chupacabra at least five times without ever figuring out how to kill it. She would take breaks between the encyclopedia of Monsters (yes there was such a thing), a rather comprehensive guide to Greek mythology, and a chemistry textbook she was using as a reference to try and figure out a way to make her exploding ammo more of an implosion. Her dry-cleaning lady was pissed last time.

Castiel came in around four am and narrowed his eyes at her as he lowered his head.

"Victoria?"

She met his deep blue gaze. "Hello Castiel."

He took the seat opposite her.

"Dean told me of your dreams."

All their codependency knew no bounds.

Victoria nodded. "They are just dreams, Castiel, I've had similar ones before."

Not really. But she was a human, who was a hunter, and damn it, she was fine. Or she was gonna be. She pulled a gummy worm out of the bag and ripped it between her teeth. The sour crystals lingered on her lips and as she licked the sour away her heart stilled at the slight taste of metal.

"Your lip is bleeding."

Oh thank God, she must have bit it. The grace flew to her aid, sealing the wound. That grace. Her hand went to her chest. Was the dreaming coming from that grace? Of course it was. Nothing else made sense.

"Ezekiel said you had a way to remove the grace."

Castiel tipped his head. "Is it bothering you?"

"It itches." As well as giving her dreams where she questioned her very existence, but she went with itching.

"I can attempt to remove it. I was successful in removing the grace Sam still possessed when he was no longer Gadreel's vessel."

Victoria nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

Victoria sat up as straight as possible while Castiel inserted the needle into her neck, where grace can usually be extracted. He frowned as he only pulled out blood.

"I do not understand, this was effective with Sam."

"It stays here." She pointed to her chest.

Cas appeared hesitant. "I can attempt that Victoria, however, that is not typically how this is done."

"Typically?"

Castiel shrugged, a very human motion that amused Victoria, ever so slightly. "According to the instructions."

That made her full-on smile.

"You would be an instruction type Angel."

Cas smiled out the side of his mouth and narrowed his eyes in mock seriousness. "Not always."

He went to clean the oversized hypodermic and came back apprehensive. "I will heal you if this does not go correctly."

Victoria nodded. "You better." A slight smile played on her lips, but it was mixed with the tiniest bit of fear.

Cas stood directly in front of her and inserted the needle straight into her chest. Before he could try and extract the grace, the syringe began to shake, out of his control. He quickly moved to the side as the hypodermic rapidly removed itself from her chest, spun in midair and imploded in a flash of a bright blue light.

"What the hell was that?" Dean exclaimed, coming into the room with a cup of coffee and his free hand in the pocket of his robe. A man who had seen so much stuff in his life that an imploding blue ball of light was not even worth an aggressive stance.

* * *

"Okay, I can see where you're coming from..." Dean began, taking a deep sip from his mug, "But Zeke told you the stuff wasn't evil."

"These aren't nightmares Dean." Victoria bit her bottom lip and looked into her friend's green eyes. Eyes that projected kindness but could also be hard, but usually not with her, especially lately. Eyes that had seen far too much and been loved way too little.

"Then what are they?"

Victoria sat back in her seat, how was she going to explain this? "They are what might have been?"

Dean just shrugged, not in a dismissive or unsure way, but in a questioning one.

"I don't need poetry, I need you to talk."

"Hypocritical much?"

Dean's look was a warning. He had seen firsthand, once with his brother and once with Cas, what dreaming of the Devil could do. "This isn't about shoving stuff down Tor, you were trying to extract grace Zeke said you needed."

"It is just beneficial, I don't need it."

"Pretty much saved your Chosen One ass with the tribrid didn't it?"

She glowered at him.

"Dean." Cas's voice was a warning all its own.

"No, Cas. Look, Tor here, can take whatever I dish out, and more. She's family, you and Sam don't have to protect her from me, you know that, man. And she gives as good as she gets."

"Yes, Dean. It saved my ass."

Cas chuckled. Dean grinned.

"But…" Victoria ripped a gummy worm between her teeth, receiving a strange, almost quizzical look from Dean, "I think it is causing the dreams. Or presentations of an alternate reality, whatever it is."

Alternate reality. Dean took another swig of coffee. Victoria had never had too much of a sweet tooth that he noticed before. I mean, the girl baked, and ate that, but the whole candy thing was new. Too new. He looked at her intensely, eyes narrowed. Gabriel? Naw. Dean looked again. Naw. Naw?

"What's with the candy?"

"What?"

"I've never seen you eat candy like that before."

"It's a replacement."

Replacement? What for? The realization dawned on Dean and he felt like the world's biggest ass. Of course, she would need a replacement for the alcohol right now. Who wouldn't?

Dean used one of his winning strategies, deflection. "Okay, so Zeke says the grace is good, you keep it. And we'll work through the dreams."

She looked down at her hands. "He tells me this is the dream." Her blue eyes met green once more.

Dream Devil, man, bag of dicks. "You know better Tor."

"Perhaps if you attempted to ground yourself in the dream, you would realize it is simply an illusion?"

Victoria shook her head at the angel. "I feel everything there just as much as I feel it here, I do use grounding techniques, yes, but only to quell the terror." She scratched at her forehead and ran her hand down her face.

Dean scratched the back of his neck and shared a look with Cas. "What about dream walking?"

"Are you suggesting I visit others' dreams?"

"I'm suggesting Cas visit yours."

She shuddered. "No." The word came out harsh, pained.

Cas furrowed his brow.

"He would kill you. My Guardian is laying dead in front of his throne, eyes charred. A vessel never to return to his infant daughter." She said way more than she intended to, the scene filling her eyes and spilling out of her mouth. She coughed quickly, "It's just a dream."

Neither one of them was buying it. But they were also both masters of emotional suppression, so they let it go. For now.

Sam wondered in, hair out of place, gray t-shirt and flannel pajama pants. He kissed Victoria lightly on the cheek. He stumbled to the fridge and managed to pour a glass of orange juice. He realized everyone was staring at him when he sat down.

"What?"

"You look even worse than usual man, and I swear the hair, long as Tor's."

"Worse than usual?"

"When you wake up, and you're the frickin' morning one." Dean got up to get his breakfast casserole out of the oven. He smiled and clicked his tongue, admiring his work. "Oh yeah, this baby is gonna be delicious."

"I didn't sleep well." He smiled sadly at Victoria. Sam knew she stayed up all night to avoid the dreams. He had attempted similar things in the past, and knew eventually whatever was going to happen originally, did. He wanted to know what the dreams were about, hunters were used to nightmares, but whatever this was, was not that. But he wouldn't press, he very rarely ever did.

* * *

"_You were out of it for quite awhile that time." _

_Damn it. She fell asleep at the table reading and no one woke her up. Son of a bitch! She looked around on the floor. _

"_You cleaned up." _

"_Yeah, dead vessels can get gross." His face scrunched up in disgust. _

_Her eyes went to the child in the cradle. "She's sleeping." He put his finger to his lips. _

_Victoria walked over to the cradle and gently picked up the child, her only saving grace in this nightmare. She went and sat down in her throne, not finding any other furniture in the room. The child's breathing was soothing, her body warm against her mother's chest. _

"_Why am I wearing this dress?" The clothing was medieval, with a low neckline and bell sleeves. _

_Lucifer shrugged Sam's broad shoulders. "I have a fetish." Victoria felt herself tremor. _

"_You can't read my thoughts." _

"_Nope." That chalice was still full with blood, or refilled, Victoria didn't want to know. _

"_But last night, you knew what I was doing, in my real life." She accentuated the word "real"._

_Lucifer looked at her with a shocked expression on Sam's face, it was almost comical. "The field thing? Oh babe, I was joking. How pathetic!" _

_Victoria's eyes developed a sheen and she focused on the child's breathing. _

"_Now, you have got to admit that you and Sam, on a date, in a field? Yeah, hon, that's not your life." _

"_It is." Her resolution was apparent in the jut of her chin and rise of her breast. _

"_Yeah, it's not. And what, were you training with Dean too in a whole Rocky sequence?" _

_Her expression was all he needed. "Oh babe! You've got to reign that in. I don't mind the occasional slip of yours back into that dreamland, but don't make it so corny." He rolled Sam's eyes. _

"_Just because it has good points, doesn't mean it's not real." He detected the tiniest bit of doubt in her voice. And like the saying goes, the devil is in the details. And that little detail? He could work with. _

_With an eyebrow raised to her, and lips red with blood, he began to water the seed he already planted, a seed he knew took when she fought sleep. "Okay, yeah, sure. But just how good do you think you can have it Victoria Morningstar?" _

"_Do not call me that." _

"_It's your name, my Queen." _

"_My name is Victoria Doyle. I live in a bunker with two hunters, an angel, my nephew, and Mary Winchester. And at times, we are content." She couldn't make herself say happy. But that moment with Sam last night? That was happiness wasn't it? It felt like it could be. _

"_Right, cause that sounds like the Winchesters doesn't it?" His eyes flashed red for just a moment. "Think, Victoria, go through those memories of yours, have they ever been content? That world, where you fight monsters and always win? That world is your illusion, a haven you created for yourself. Come fully to me, my bride, and we will rule the world." _

_He turned her head to his and kissed her on the lips before she could move or protest. He was much stronger in this vessel, and what appeared to be an endless supply of blood. _

* * *

Victoria woke up to no one around her, which was strange. She assumed Sam would have carried her to bed. But he was probably afraid of waking her, knowing she would not go back to sleep. The grace swirled around her chest and she knew she had to get it out, and if that extraction tool didn't work, she knew a weapon that would.

They had hidden it well, fearing it wouldn't be truly safe, not even in the bunker. It was one of a kind, probably the last one on this plane. Lucifer brought it with him from apocalypse world and left it when Jack ended his life.

Victoria gave a sideways glance to the glass jar housing her evil, trying to shake away the calling. Damn, that stuff was creepy. Victoria breathed, steadying herself and crawled beneath one of the tables in the basement to a cinder block. She dug into either side of the cinder block with her nails, breaking several in the process. She silently cursed at the blood stains that would leave.

The cinder block had been dug out, the archangel blade resting at its bottom. Victoria carefully removed it, replacing the block, mentally reminding herself to clean the wall when this was over, when she replaced the blade. Blood draws attention and their perfect hiding spot would no longer be perfect, but rather a calling card. 'Creepy angel killing blade in here, right here, where the blood is.' She shuffled around and found a glass vial as well, knowing the grace could be useful later.

Victoria crawled up the stairs as quietly as she could, knowing all the occupants of the bunker were light sleepers. Cas was usually in his room watching Netflix at this time of night, so he would probably be the last one to hear her. She climbed up the stairs and exited the bunker, sitting down in the grass that covered the bunker's front door.

* * *

_Dean's line bobbed in and out of the water, the reel being lazily turned by the experienced hunter. _

"_Hey Cas, you know you're like two doors down from me man." _

"_I am not Castiel." _

_Dean whipped around and stood, dropping his pole, and his beer. His hunter reflexes were honed, perfected, even in a sleepy, lakeside dream._

"_Zeke?!" _

_The angel looked scared, Dean almost able to see the unsettled and swiftly moving grace underneath the angel's illusioned vessel. _

"_Victoria's soul cried out to my grace. My vessel is unavailable, take Castiel and go outside." _

_Ezekiel touched Dean's forehead._

Dean threw on his robe, grabbed Cas from in front of his TV and ran outside.

* * *

Victoria Doyle was not anything if she wasn't logical. She knew this blade had the real potential to kill her, she was not acting on a level of self-destruction. She did not want to die. She simply did not want to live with those dreams. Despite what she was told, the grace, its memory, flowing inside of her must be the cause of those dreams. It was rational, it made sense. It was a problem that needed a solution.

Victoria unbuttoned her shirt slightly and pressed the tip of the blade to her chest with her right hand. It was an uncomfortable position and she hoped she wouldn't need much pressure to extract the grace. With the glass vial in her left, she made a straight cut about four inches down with no result, just blood. Victoria sighed.

With a shaking hand, because damn, this hurt, she started her task again, only deeper this time. The blade stung, as if it touched the grace and burned it, but it could not be reached. Knowing anatomy fairly well from her biology classes she knew she could go about an inch deeper before she reached her heart. From what Crowley said about Chosen Ones, a puncture to the heart with an archangel blade would probably not be something she could recover from, grace or not.

Her light blue shirt was drenched in her own blood, and she knew it was not salvageable, amazing dry-cleaning woman or not. The grace was fluttering, burning, and irritated. It sealed Victoria's injuries with righteous anger. Between the itching and the burning, Victoria's patience was growing thin.

She stabbed the blade a quarter inch further than the time previous, drawing more pain and more blood. She hissed, fury rising within her at the futile attempts. Eyes burning, hand shaking, and mind determined, Victoria thrust the blade in between her breasts and dragged down hard. She felt it nick her heart, and just as quickly as the agonizing pain began, it subsided. She felt a coolness where there was once fire, a splash of water to control the flames.

"Castiel." The angel's name was hissed, purple eyes focused on the seraph's glowing blue ones.

"Yes." He took the blade from her hand.

She let go willingly, not to relinquish power, but to not hurt him. She wouldn't fight with the Angel. She closed her eyes, and they reopened, blue once more.

Dean plopped in the grass beside her, now that the danger was over. He pulled her into his lap and just held her there. He closed his eyes, only to see her angel.

_Worry clouded every feature. His hands shook and the Guardian could not stand still. "Holden is watching his daughter, and David has a shift at the hospital. May I…" He couldn't ask. He knew their history and couldn't bear to ask. _

_Dean looked at him. This was the exact opposite of what he had been taught, the exact opposite of what his gut told him to do. But this angel was hurting. The human he loved just almost cut her heart out because of Dream Devil and he couldn't protect her. _

_Dean licked his lips and shifted his weight from one foot to another, arms crossed. "Both of us man, up front. And if you renege…" _

"_Victoria can exorcise me. Or kill me. I do not care." _

_Damn he was hurting. _

"_I know you are weary, Dean Winchester. I know what Lucifer did to your brother, and Castiel, and what Michael wanted to do to you. What Gadreel did. I assure you; I am not like my brothers. I will never forget this favor." _

_Against his better judgment, and without talking to Sammy, Dean said, "Yes." _

Dean's eyes glowed blue, causing Castiel to shuffle away and hold up the archangel blade.

"Relax Cas, it's just Zeke."

That did not seem to steel the angel. Team Free Will often fought against possession, and after his recent bout with Lucifer, Cas was not all that comfortable seeing any angel possess his best friend.

The angel currently using Dean Winchester's body brushed back Victoria's hair so he could see her face.

"Dean?" She muttered.

"Victoria."

Her eyes opened widely. "Ezekiel."

He sniffed out a laugh, grace calming Dean's body. "Why did you do that?" He put his hand on her chest, their graces communing, comforting the Chosen One. She looked into green eyes that were not his, but ones she found comfort in, nonetheless.

"The grace is causing me to have misgivings, a difficulty in distinguishing between fact and fiction. It is, for lack of a better term, driving me insane."

"That is not the grace, Victoria." He put his forehead against hers. "That is the trauma."

She snorted. "Bull."

His expression pained, her inability to cope, to accept help, to even admit the fact she needed help, her belief in a supernatural solution over a mental one, caused his millennial old being to feel even older. He felt like Atlas, and Victoria Doyle was his world.

"I'm a hunter Ezekiel. We are trauma." She scooted away from him.

The pain in the eyes that were not his own intensified, and she knew, without listening, that he was telling the truth.

"I am going insane?" her breath was shaky, voice trembling. Hand to her heart, dried blood flaking off, she took short breaths. Clutching the grass beside her she forced deep breaths in and out. His hand reached out to hers.

"Not insane, no. You will work through this, as many other women, and men, have done."

"I'm like this because I was friggin' kidnapped?" She scoffed, breaths shortening once more.

"Even if you were, that would be okay, but you know, as well as I, as well as Castiel, Dean, Sam, and Mary, that it was and is so much more than that."

She did know. She closed her eyes and nodded.

Ezekiel kissed her on the forehead before addressing his host.

"_Thank you, Dean." _

Dean shook his head to clear it as Ezekiel went back to Heaven.

"Dean?"

"All me buddy."

Cas allowed a look of relief to wash over his features.

Victoria looked to Dean. "He cannot know."

"Sam?' Dean's brow furrowed, his eyes growing serious. "Tor…"

"Dean, think about it, I'm going back and forth between two different versions of reality. In one of those, Sam is the Devil. He accepted Lucifer because Lucifer told Sam that if he did then he would not…" Victoria steeled herself, "Push me too far."

Dean's nostrils flared as he breathed in harshly. He wanted to punch something. Dream Devil was such a dick.

"We have to think of something else to tell him, some other type of horror that won't make him feel guilty."

Cas's eyes narrowed. "Victoria, Sam suffered similar delusions regarding Lucifer."

Victoria looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, when his soul got back from the cage match." Dean responded quickly so Cas wouldn't blame himself for the whole damn thing. Some of which was definitely his fault.

"What happened?"

"He almost died."

Dean glared daggers at the Angel. Cas took no notice of him.

"However, I was able to lift his burden from him, take on his pain, perhaps I could do the same with you."

Dean had a look of pure fear. No way his best friend was going through that again. No way any of them were going through that again.

"Cas." A warning, a tone the Angel knew well over the years.

Victoria sat up, rigid and straight. "No." She licked her lips and stared at her hands. "For one, it would be impossible. I am not simply human. Two, no way in hell are you taking this from me."

A slight smile played at the corner of Dean's mouth, a mixture of pride and affection.

"I will be fine."

"Yeah, Castiel, well, so will I. I didn't go through what Sam did, my soul wasn't used as a play toy for Satan." She cringed at the thought, hand going to her chest. "Yes, I was kidnapped, and violated, and yes, I will suffer with that trauma. But I'll be okay. You mean far too much to me Angel, this isn't on you. What you did for Sam had to be done, but this is completely different. And this time, you are not responsible. Got it?"

Castiel nodded, his eyes still unsure.

She stood up; the men did the same.

"Tor?"

She turned to the eldest Winchester, "Hum?"

"We're gonna go on a trip."


	49. Part 2: Chapter 24

_Thank you so, so much for reading! _

**_Thank you to all of the absolutely wonderful readers who have chosen to review/favorite/comment on this tale. It means so much as the author of this story and I can't tell you how much it means to me. _**

_I do not own Supernatural, or any other books, movies, TV shows, songs, websites, and/or apps referenced in this tale. _

_Chapte__r__ Warnings__ : Victoria further deals with the emotional trauma resulting from being used and kidnapped by Lucifer_

Chapter 24

Women are Strong as Hell

"You're taking her to Jody's?" Sam looked at his brother who was on his third cup of coffee.

"Yeah. I think it'll do her good. Be around some women who have been through some crap."

"Not that I don't think it's a good idea, I do, but I can take her, Dean."

Dean's elbows were on the table, he licked his bottom lip and scratched the side of his nose with his thumb. They talked about this last night, what to tell Sam. "She's having really involved dreams about Lucifer, Sammy." They were gonna tell him that part, but just let him assume it was Nick's vessel.

Sam scoffed, nostrils flaring, he closed his eyes, nodded, and swallowed the emotion. With a slight clearing of his throat he once more addressed his older brother, "Like mine, Dean?"

"No." Dean scratched the back of his head. "Uh, Tor's are strictly dreams. She says they're like two versions of reality, and she goes back and forth between them."

"He did that with me."

"He was with you constantly, Sam. Tor's are only when she's asleep. It's not like how yours were, she's gonna be fine. She's just got to work through it. He hasn't touched her soul. Okay?"

Sam nodded. "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Dude, we have been through this so many times. She loves you, and uh, this hurts you, so…" Dean took another drink of his coffee.

"Are you coming back?"

"I don't know yet. I'll stay at Jody's a couple days at least, see how Tor settles in, see if Claire wants to find a hunt. With me and Tor. Jody says she's got the itch again, and since it'd be better to go with us, then, we'll see."

Sam sighed, "You think we'll ever to get to stay all together? Or is it just gonna be like this the rest of our lives?"

"Honestly, man, I don't know. But this here, will get better. And then we'll move on to the next Big Bad."

"Yeah." Sam nodded and smiled sadly.

Damn, Dean hated that look on his brother; he'd seen it too damn much.

* * *

"You have to leave again?"

Victoria bit her bottom lip and felt tears pang her eyes as she labeled Jack's schoolwork for the next two weeks. "I don't want to, Jack."

"But, it's your job, to save people. All of our jobs." The boy was so earnest, so bright, so trusting.

"Yes, I suppose it is." She smiled sadly at him. She wondered if two weeks' worth was going to be enough for him. She didn't fully understand Dean's plan. He wanted her to bond with some women, but she had no idea how that was supposed to get Lucifer out of her head. Not only that, Victoria Doyle didn't 'bond'.

"Okay, so there is enough here for you to learn for the next two weeks, and Castiel will provide your lore training."

Jack looked as if he wanted to ask a question but was hesitant. Victoria smiled. "Yes, Jack?"

"So, if Uncle Sam and Dad get a case, can I go with them?"

Victoria knew this was the rottenest parent card to play, but the woman had only been a parent for a short while, and well, she truly did mean it. "If your father and Uncle Sam are okay with that, then yes, I will agree to your going on a hunt."

The kid's smile brightened, and he hugged her quickly.

Victoria hoped the hunter and the Angel wouldn't be too miffed at her.

* * *

"Hey."

Victoria snorted out a smile as she heard Sam enter her room. She finished zipping her bag, put it on the floor, then sat down on the bed, he came to sit by her.

Sam pursed his lips, attempted to smile, swallowed, sighed, then looked at the ground. "Dean, he uh, told me what the dreams were about."

"Yeah, they are not enjoyable." She attempted to smile.

"I've been through it, Tor, and knowing that he got you too, it's just..." Sam snorted, and made eye contact.

"What I am experiencing is in no way the caliber of what you went through. Sam, I have Castiel's memories, and I don't look through them purposely anymore but sometimes they just enter the forefront of my mind. And I saw parts of what you went through, and this is in no way that." She also felt what Castiel experienced, the mere memory of which made her slightly shiver.

"But he's making you question what's real."

Victoria sighed and took Sam's hands in her own. "Yes, but that's the trauma. I suppose what happened to me was more influential than I care to admit."

Sam's eyes filled with pain.

Victoria placed one of her hands on his cheek. "But you, oh my God, you are the one person I will always fight to be with."

"This never would have happened if…"

"If what? We hadn't met? No. My sister, that's how he knew me. The only difference? I would've died that day. Without Ezekiel in Heaven. With no one. Just books, and a chem lab, according to my Guardian. I know you and Dean both take on some of the guilt for what happened to me, and I know that is just how you two are, Castiel even, but there is absolutely no way any one of the three of you individually or combined could have possibly prevented this. This is going to sound so corny, and so chick flicky…"

Sam snorted a laugh.

"But, I would do it all, all over again, to be with you."

"That is definitely corny." Sam smiled. "And a little messed up." The smile quickly faded, leaving a broken facsimile in its stead.

"Oh, it is definitely messed up. But, would I fit in if I wasn't on the codependent wagon?"

Sam nodded in exasperated agreement.

Victoria licked her lips. "I am going to try and be more open and honest with you Sam. I should have told you about the dreams. But I didn't want to hurt you."

"No, I get it. But you can't protect me from everything."

"You don't need protection. You're Sam frickin' Winchester." They both chuckled. "You need me to be here for you. And part of that is my desire to cause you the least amount of pain possible. And I attempted to get over it on my own, work through it. Which did not work. And as per my usual custom, I cried into your brother's flannel."

Victoria released Sam's hand and cheek and flopped back on the bed.

Sam laid next to her, smirk forming. "Should I be jealous of that?"

Victoria returned the smirk and turned to prop the upper half of her body onto his chest, looking him in the eyes, which she was elated to see had a bit of a twinkle.

"I can make arrangements to cry into your flannel next time."

Sam laughed. "It's here whenever you need it."

Victoria laid her head on his chest, soaking in the last few minutes of his heartbeat before they would have to leave. "Sam?" Barely a whisper.

"Hum?" He was stroking her hair, trying not to feel inadequate or scared or unworthy.

"I meant it, what I said, about doing it all over again."

He closed his eyes, "I know, Tor."

* * *

Dean looked over at his passenger and cleared his throat, fingers drumming on the steering wheel of his Baby. "You tell Sam about the…" He motioned to his chest.

Victoria lowered her gaze and raised her eyebrows. "Of course not."

Dean nodded, not surprised, but slightly disappointed. "Right."

"Did you expect me to? I attempted to cut out archangel grace with an archangel blade and nicked my heart. I am only alive courtesy of Angels, literally."

Dean cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, attempting to alleviate some of the tension. "You two gotta work this out, Tor, this whole keeping secrets thing. It don't turn out good."

She tilted her head. "So, he's keeping secrets from me too?"

Damn it. "No, not what I said." Dean could've chosen better words, but damn it, this whole feelings thing was not his strong suit. "I just mean that you've got a lot going on, and Sam is gonna find out at some point."

"I don't see why he should."

"They always come out."

Victoria softened, she knew where the eldest Winchester was coming from. She knew and understood the pain secrets had caused them. "I don't mind telling him about the dreams, Dean, not now. But I cannot…" she paused and picked at a fingernail, "I cannot tell him that Lucifer is using his body. And that is the aspect that is causing me the most turmoil."

Dean chanced a glance at her before sniffing harshly and turning his attention back to the road.

"I have studied his eyes, and the inflection of his voice, his smell, all so that the next time I dream I can differentiate between them. Because having Lucifer force me to kiss him in Sam's body with the taste of demon blood lingering on his lips is almost enough to make me insane. Or wish I was."

Son of a Bitch. Frickin' Dream Devil man. Absolute bag of dicks. Dean sniffed again. "You'll get through this Tor."

"Yeah."

The Chosen One put her head against the glass of the Impala. She knew Dean wouldn't want to stop for awhile and she hoped the last cup of coffee was enough to keep her awake until the next one.

* * *

_The table was comically long, like those tables seen in old English films where the whole entire county comes to dine. The amount of food for such a long table was also comical, considering there was hardly any of it. There was a small roasted hen, a compilation of roasted vegetables, and an individual sized pie. All the food was in front of Victoria. She looked across from her to see Lucifer holding a bottle for her baby. The sight distressed her, and she rose to claim her child. _

"_You should eat wifey, now that your soul's uncovered, you need food." He looked somewhat repulsed by the thought. _

"_I can feed her." _

_Lucifer raised Sam's eyebrows. "This isn't the first time I've fed our daughter, Victoria. Nor will it be the last. Sit. Eat." _

_Victoria marveled at how her dream teetered between the Lucifer of one liners and the Lucifer of Castiel's remembrance, in various vessels. She focused on the bottle and its contents, why did it look odd? _

"_So, what were you doing this time?" _

_Victoria's eyebrows knitted in puzzlement. She realized what he wanted and sat up straighter and jutted her chin. "You mean in my life?" _

_He rolled Sam's eyes. "In your dream, but yeah. Were you and Cas bonding over Netflix?" _

_Victoria scowled. "Actually, we are working on a plan to get rid of you." _

"_Let me know what you come up with. Eat." _

_Victoria inspected the food that appeared normal enough. And she was hungry, which was just really strange. She was hungry in a dream. She began to cut the chicken, attempting to see if it was, in fact, chicken. It seemed to be. She smelled it next. _

"_Do you really think I would poison the mother of my child and bride?" _

"_Yes." _

"_Ouch. That hurts. Kinda need you kiddo." _

"_Yeah, why is that? And do not ever call me kiddo. Considering our whatever this is, it's creepy. Even by your creep standards." _

"_Don't you get it? We are it. In this world, this time, the three of us? We've won." _

"_Won what?" _

"_The world." _

"_So, it's just us?" _

"_Father, no! How awful would that be. Boring. No, we keep the right amount of everything, just not too much everything, nothing that could ever overpower us." _

"_Then why do you need me?" _

"_You are power." _

"_So are other chosen ones. Why me?" _

"_Yeah, there's others like you. But not you. It's in your bloodline to be a vessel as well as a chosen one. Pretty rare. Even by chosen one standards. Also, you met the boys, trained with the boys, kinda made you stronger than you were ever supposed to be." _

"_So, I'm just your extra set of batteries?" _

_Lucifer bobbled Sam's head back and forth between his shoulders and clicked his tongue. "Kinda? But no? It's more than that. You, me, the kid? We're kinda a well, triangle." _

_Victoria raised her eyebrow, "So, we'd be powerless apart from one another, is that what you're saying?" _

"_What, no! We'd be less powerful individually than we are individually together. Besides, I like you." _

"_Oh, you've formed an attachment." _

"_I liked you since I watched you rip that guy's throat out in Colorado." _

_Victoria paled, her heartbeat increasing. "Not my finest moment."_

"_You kidding? You saved yourself Doyle. No boys needed. And you did a fine job. I mean, yeah, I lost you, but I got you back." _

"_Right." Her attention was once again drawn to the bottle. "What are you feeding her?" _

"_This?" Lucifer took the bottle from the baby and held it up. "Human formula with a bit of Grace and Demon blood." _

* * *

Victoria awoke in the Impala, Dean's grip strong on her arm.

"Tor, what happened?"

"Can you pull over? I need some air."

Victoria got out of the car and began pacing on the side of the road. Dean leaned over the driver's side door, staring at her, arm's crossed on top of his baby's hood. "What line is he feeding you, huh?"

"Same old, just…" Victoria mimicked Dean's position except over the passenger door. "Dean, he is feeding my baby grace and demon blood."

* * *

Victoria ripped apart a gummy worm between her teeth. Dean didn't ask any questions the whole ride to the gas station, which Victoria was grateful for.

"You didn't tell me your kid was in the dreams."

She knew it was too good to last. "Yes. From the beginning."

Dean gripped the wheel tighter. "And he's feeding, her, it's a her, right?"

"Yes, a girl." Victoria felt herself smile, in spite of everything else bad in those dreams, that little girl was the good.

"Okay, so he's feeding her grace?"

"That is not the part that bothers me."

Dean knew it wasn't. It wasn't the part that bothered him either. "I know, Tor. But it's not real. None of it's real."

"It is easy to say that here. Because here, I feel the leather, I smell the leather, and remnants of cologne, I feel your warmth, I taste these gummy worms, can lick the sour crystals off my lips. Feel my tears, feel the warmth of coffee. Here, it is easy to say that isn't real."

"And there?"

"There? I can taste sulfur and metal after Lucifer uses Sam's lips to kiss me. I can feel the warmth of my baby against my chest, feel her breath on my cheek. There it is easy to say here isn't real."

"Bag of dicks!"

Victoria ignored his outburst as Dean had often called Dream Devil a bag of dicks, among other things. She started to notice her surroundings. "I bought my Mustang up near here."

Dean stared at her. "What?"

"Yeah, umm, a long time ago, after my first paying case. A salvage yard, uh…"

Dean bowed his head, a sad smile playing at one corner of his mouth. "Singer Salvage?"

"That's it. Gruff owner, worried about selling me a bad car." Victoria paused, memories from Castiel flowing into her mind, she quickly tried to block them, they became personal and ended with Cas wearing an institutional white outfit sitting on some stairs watching Sam and Dean burn Bobby's flask, the flask that ended Bobby's life as a ghost and his connection to the boys. Bobby, also the man from the creepy gray world Jack opened the rift to. She briefly wondered why the memories hadn't surfaced there, even with Castiel saying the man's name. She wrote that off to the shock of Apocalypse world. Okay, so Victoria was in no way going to mention all the information she just accidentally learned. "He uh, actually looked like the man I met in apocalypse world, who had all the angel ammo."

Dean snorted a smile and pinched the edge of his nose with his right hand. "Yeah, uh, Bobby. He was like a father to me and Sam."

She knew.

"Well, he sold me a good car."

"Hell yeah he did."

Victoria pretended to not notice when Dean blinked several times and sniffed loudly.

* * *

Jody Mills met Dean Winchester and Victoria Doyle on her front stoop.

"Come here, you." Dean dropped his bag and gave Jody a hug.

Victoria figured she was next, and she was right. "Hey, Tor, Dean told me a lot about you. I'm glad you could come."

Manners. And Jody was 'good people' as Dean called her, so manners were important. "Thank you for having me, us, on such short notice."

"Always. Dean just invites himself up whenever he wants to anyway." She slapped him on the back good-naturedly.

"Come on in. I'll introduce you to the girls and show you your room."

Alex and Claire were sitting on the couch both reading. Alex was reading a textbook for biology and Claire had out the encyclopedia of monsters Victoria was only on "C" with. Claire was a lot further along.

"Alex, Claire, this is Victoria, she's going to be staying with us for a few days."

"Hey." Alex nodded and smiled.

Claire was leerier. She studied Victoria before saying a word, a trait which the older woman admired. "You hunt too?"

"Boy, does she ever." Dean patted her on the back and followed Jody up some stairs, leaving Victoria with the two girls.

"What does he mean?" Claire tried not to look interested, but she was, very much so.

Victoria sat in an available chair. "Umm, I do hunt, yes."

Claire's face was asking for a continuation.

"I am a Chosen One."

"A what?"

"I was born to kill monsters. Like with abilities."

"What can you do?"

Alex chimed in. "Claire give her like a minute, she had to ride all the way from Kansas with Dean. She's probably tired."

"Hey kid, I take offense to that." Dean came back into the living room and plopped himself into a seat.

"Girls, you want to help set the table?"

Dean rubbed his hands together, "Dinner."

* * *

"So, what brings you to Jody's home for wayward girls?" Claire speared a piece of broccoli and lazily put it in her mouth.

"Excuse me?" Victoria Doyle asked, thoroughly confused.

"Usually when Dean sends a girl here it's because she's been traumatized. Although you're older than the typical age."

"Claire!" Jody's voice was reprimanding, but Victoria was not sure why.

"I am older than them, Jody. It's fine."

Dean just kept eating.

"Is this part of it, sharing at the dinner table?"

"Part of what?" Jody inquired, looking puzzled.

Victoria looked to Dean who had to swallow a large piece of roast beef before he answered. "Uh, I told Tor that some strong women who had been through some crap lived here and might help her with her problem."

Jody nodded. "Okay, uh yeah, we can share. Well, I lost my son, then he came back," Jody swallowed, "But he wasn't himself, he was uh, infected. Part of some apocalypse crap. He ended up killing my husband, and Sam had to," she paused, looking at her plate, "Sam had to shoot him." She took a long drink of her wine.

"I was kidnapped when I was eight and used for bait for a vampire nest, who became my family. I stabbed mama with dead man's blood when she was going to kill Jody. Then some other vamp came after me, turned my boyfriend, and I almost watched two people I care about get murdered because of me." Alex smiled sadly at Jody and Claire. Jody grabbed her hand.

"My father was used as a vessel by an Angel, my mom went off looking for him. She got captured by some old-ass prototype angel who fed on her soul. She died protecting me, and my father, or what was left of him, was killed by Lucifer or Raphael, I really never knew which. But Castiel still has his vessel." Claire looked around, not really focusing on anything in particular.

Victoria looked at Dean, wondering how she could have missed those blue eyes before.

"I became a runaway going from home to home. Got caught up with a bad crowd." She looked at Dean, who avoided her gaze for a moment. "Got out of that, ended up with Jody."

Okay, that was a lot, and definitely not what Victoria was expecting. She swallowed and decided to just go for it. Maybe it would help. "I was kidnapped while at a farmer's market with my nephew. Drugged, a lot, beaten, I'm pretty sure, and there was a doctor who apparently extracted some of my reproductive material in order to create Lucifer's offspring. Which was a successful endeavor as there is a currently a pregnant surrogate, who is incredibly sweet. Lucifer was behind the whole kidnapping, He injected some evil into my veins, which cloaked my soul and caused me to be cruel. Drank holy water, lost the evil, became super weak. Lucifer dropped by, tried to steal Jack's grace, cut my throat instead, which killed me. Jack then killed him. Crowley bottled the grace leftover from the killing and made me drink it. Which brought me back to life, but now I have itchy archangel grace inside me. Umm, then I started having very realistic dreams where Lucifer is alive and tells me this is the dream. So, that bothered me, and I tried to cut the grace out with an archangel blade, nicked my heart, got healed, then Dean said we should come here."

The table was silent, making Victoria anxious. Maybe, this was too much, even for them.

Jody finished her glass of wine in one gulp. "Okay. So, yeah, badass bitches."

Victoria smiled, and relief washed over her as the other three did the same. Dean, of course, was still eating.

* * *

"So, what can a Chosen One do?"

Victoria put down her iPad to pay her full attention to the blue-eyed young woman with blonde hair. "Well, I can heal to some extent, I can smite various creatures, not all though, I am pretty strong physically."

"Awesome."

Victoria huffed out a laugh. "It's uh, it comes in handy. I saw your book when I came in, do you want to be a hunter?"

"Eventually. I kinda realized I need some training first."

"It helps."

"Who trained you?"

"Oh. Well, I have a Guardian who is, or was, he's still alive, or back alive, but he taught me most of what I am able to do."

"Can we train, while you're here?"

Victoria had no idea why she was in so many parent situations now. And she was about to be in more. "Well, if that is acceptable with your, with Jody, I see no reason, why we could not…"

"Really, Tor? Spit it out."

Victoria glared as the eldest Winchester as he and Jody walked into the room.

"It's fine with me Victoria. Claire and I have an agreement." She inclined her head toward the blonde, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Claire nodded, "Yeah, classes, homework, then training."

Victoria smiled slightly, "That was also my arrangement with my Guardian."

"Yeah, except you're a total dork, like Sam, and probably made those rules yourself." Dean plopped onto the couch next to Claire, smiling at her apparent distaste (which Victoria read as feigned distaste) of the gesture. He really was going to be an amazing uncle.

"You would be lost without Sam's dorkiness."

Dean scrunched up his face in a you're-not-wrong expression.

"So, nights are usually either movie, tv binging, or monster nights." Jody elaborated at the two sets of quizzical eyebrows, "We go over how to kill stuff. And since we have you two, and since you totally crashed my house, I'm thinking, monster night?"

Claire smiled hopefully. Victoria sat on the floor in front of the coffee table and opened the encyclopedia of monsters, "How far have y'all gotten?"


End file.
